Cat
by Riverly-Melody
Summary: There's a cat that lives at the Sawada's. A ridiculously small kitten with equally as ludicrous large eyes and a fluffy tail, courtesy of being easily frightened. It appears and disappears as it pleases and Reborn can never seem to find it. Once, he wonders why a certain brunet has a bad relationship with dogs. And why does Tsuna know the weather better than the forecasters?
1. Reborn

**Cat**

* * *

**Full Summary: **There's a cat that lives in the Sawada house. Or rather, a ridiculously small brown kitten with equally as ludicrous large eyes that glow orange at night and an almost always puffed tail, courtesy of an easily-frightened personality. Strangely enough, it's quite clumsy, though it might just be the pre-adolescent period. It's a mysterious cat – just like all cats are – and it appears only from time to time, though that too is supposedly normal for cats. Sometimes, it disappears without a trace or appears from nowhere, leaving Reborn unable to find it which is, by itself, an impressive thing.

And the thing is, Reborn sometimes sees it in some... unexpected places. Usually, in the epicenter of all chaos – where Tsuna usually is. With time, he realizes that the kitten always comes by in the absence of a certain brunet who has a strained relationship with a neighborhood dog and loves to sleep curled up in a ball – the boy even stares at empty spaces and doesn't blink a lot. And why does Tsuna know the upcoming weather better than the forecasters?

Slowly, Sawada Tsunayoshi's life becomes a lot deeper than it seems at first glance - in many different perspectives.

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**Warnings:** AU, canon-bending, mild language, possible OOCness and cats. Lots of cats. And lots of animals as well as animal talk. And cuteness for that matter. I'd even say _too_ much of it, at times. And randomness too. There will also be some supernatural (naturally). Please discard of any expectations of a decent chronologically-logical order too.

Aside from that, there is also some twists in regards to Tsuna's fighting style and knowledge of certain things.

* * *

**A/N: **Wrote this while listening to 'Rouge no Dengon' Yumi Arai. Strongly suggest you turn it on while reading.

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**1.**

_Creeeak._

"Hm?"

Reborn looked down from the chair he was sitting on, as he enjoyed sipping his coffee and reading the latest mafia newspaper absently, savoring the moments of serene silence – the Bovino brat and the Chinese assassin along with the Ranking Prince were out with the girls and he'd told Yamamoto and Gokudera that he'd take care of Tsuna's marks tomorrow and that the process required no interference from their part.

And after all, the hitman's words were final so even if the bomber looked deeply disturbed by not being with his boss 24/7 and the baseball player frowned slightly because he wanted to be with the brunet, they both turned around and went to whatever other business they had. Bianchi was out for a change – probably searching for new ingredients and the key to the Ultimate Dish of Love, or how she called the most lethal dish ever to be created. Without them, no one else usually tagged along, so the house was void of people apart from Reborn, Nana and Tsuna.

So far, there was nothing interesting going on in the underworld but it was his duty to check it daily, as a hitman and the tutor of the Tenth Vongola heir who was, to say, in his room upstairs, finishing the homework he had to present tomorrow at class, perfectly of course, which was what Reborn had been ensuing for the past three hours in the most straightforward (brutal) way possible.

(The brat now sported a painful bump on his head and a bruise on his leg for opening his mouth to ask something but he had it coming anyway and any limp should be gone by tomorrow. Besides, who cared? The people in this house might not notice Tsuna having broken bones, not mentioning some measly swelling and really, he should get used to it – Reborn was being gentle unlike what most of the mafia world were eager to be.)

He'd left the boy – who had been almost ripping his hair off because Reborn promised him much unpleasantries if he didn't complete the five questions by the time Reborn came back – and asked Mamma for a cup of espresso, also deciding to settle down for a few minutes to read the newspaper. He had been doing so, until his gaze slid sideways, at the sound of a light creak of the wooden floor.

The baby's eyes were trained on the opening from where the noise came – much too light for a human's steps but noticeable enough to cause the floor to creak – the one that led to the kitchen, and then he saw it and his mouth twitched upwards in slight surprise and amusement.

A laughingly tiny brown creature poked it's head around the corner, stark orange eyes scanning the room with acute intensity, and then Reborn saw a small kitten walk out of the corridor and past the kitchen through the hallway – for some reason slightly limping on it's back right paw and having disheveled fur around the left ear – as it trotted up to the window. It stopped, surveying the distance between it and it's destination for a few moments, before crouching down to prepare, and jumped up onto the windowsill – almost falling off in the process and letting a barely audible mewl of surprise that could've almost been mistaken for a screech if the baby didn't know better. The hitman stared intently, onyx eyes squinting ever-so-slightly, and slowly he turned to a happily humming Nana who payed no heed to this.

"Mamma?"

"Ara, what is it, Reborn-kun?"

"I didn't know you have a cat."

Nana put down the plate she'd been washing and glanced over her shoulder at the minute feline that was standing on its rear paws and methodically opening the window by scratching it open with it's little claws until a paw was able to slip through. After successfully making a small gap, the kitten slipped through it, the oddly fluffy tail slightly narrowing as it squeezed through, but puffing right back as the animal came out. It stopped for a second, craning its neck and seemingly staring at something outside the house with slitted neon orange eyes, and after a moment's notice, jumped down and out of sight, though not before momentarily turning to look back at the room. Reborn watched as the kitten slightly inclined its head and looked at Nana with plate-wide eyes who had smiled at it and went back to cleaning the dishes soon afterwards.

When the cat disappeared, the hitman continued to look at Nana unblinking. She was humming just as nonchalantly as before, and Reborn could almost convince himself that the slightly wistful look that passed in her eyes at seeing the little feline jump out of the window was a trick of light.

Instead, the woman had chuckled, chocolate brown eyes sparkling playfully at Reborn.

"Now you know."

Later, when Reborn was about to put down the newspaper and go up to check on the idiot student of his, he stopped to see the kitten from before hop onto the outer side of the windowsill and slip back through the gap it made earlier, jumping off and swiftly dashing up the stairs right in front of the hitman, a couple of small leafs sticking to it's neck fur – it must've ran through the bushes. Reborn watched with entertainment as the kitten almost slipped off several of the steps, displaying a clumsiness that reminded Reborn of someone he couldn't exactly remember, and the feline looked frantic to get upstairs as soon as possible for some reason, and when it disappeared around the corner, Reborn followed up.

Upon arriving, he didn't see it in the corridor, though the Arcobaleno noticed the door to Tsuna's room slightly ajar.

When Reborn marched inside, he saw his student sitting in front of his desk with a pencil in hand and still ripping off his hair as he appeared oblivious of Reborn's arrival and was utterly devastated by his inability to properly think and already solve the simple questions.

Reborn didn't notice a small green color stuck in the brunet's neck hair that was a leaf of uncertain origin.

Instead, as the hitman pounded Tsuna with Leon, listening to the screeches, he wondered where the kitten had gone.

**2.**

"Hiiiieee!"

"Dame-Tsuna, stop screeching, it's annoying and getting awfully boring. Besides, it's just a chihuahua - a mafia boss should be able to intimidate lions, not speaking of such puny creatures as this."

"HIIIEEE!"

"Shut up, Dame-Tsuna. You should man up. Or would you rather me shooting you?"

"_Hissss!_"

Reborn stopped and turned around at the strange sound. He rose an eyebrow at the baffling sight.

His idiot student by the name of Sawada Tsunayoshi, the future Vongola Decimo in training, was completely ignoring the tutor as he glared unblinkingly at the hilariously short dog – who stared back, growling oh-so-menacingly – and Reborn watched with hidden bemusement as the boy's gravity-screwed hair _bristled_.

Like, _literally_ bristled.

As in, despite the already odd angles they stuck at, the strands seemed to stick up even more, puffing around the boy's head more than before which was saying something considering Tsuna's naturally strange hair.

Meanwhile, the boy slowly rose up on his toes and started goddamn _hissing_, with all his appearance showing that he was bigger, scarier and not worth going against and also creeping out all the poor passer byes who must've thought the boy was frankly crazy.

Reborn watched him with entertainment and he could swear he saw sparks fly from the brutal stare down of life and death.

...Hesitantly, the dog let out a questioning bark.

There was a sound of claws scraping against the pavement and Tsuna's heels flashed faster than lightning as he ran down the street with a terrified screech, rounding the corner at the far end with flailing hands, much to the dog's delight who chased after the brunet with a victorious howl and a tongue stuck out, salivating all the way.

When the hitman, shaking his head at his student's astounding cowardice, walked down the street and looked around the corner, fully expecting his student to sit on the ground, quite possibly wailing and maybe sporting a bite mark, or several, he was slightly startled when he didn't find anyone – not a single person.

Though upon further notice, he saw a familiar brown-fur kitten sitting on a quite high wall as the chihuahua barked and stomped angrily on the ground, sometimes jumping up in an attempt to get up only to fall back down, sometimes painfully, evidently frustrated at not being able to climb the wall and chase the minute creature.

The cat watched the dog growl and yap with an obviously relieved expression, and then craned its neck over the drop and stuck its small pink tongue out, settling down with its paws tucked under the stomach, closing its eyes and clearly enjoying the position, in which the dog was down, on the ground, barking relentlessly albeit uselessly, and the cat was just out of reach and without bite marks.

Reborn hadn't known that the cat was allowed outside, though he supposed it was logical since sometimes the cat just literally disappeared – it wouldn't be so strange if it had the whole outer world to explore.

As the hitman proceeded to walk past the two animals to search for the idiot student who must've managed to run quite a distance with his pathetically short legs, he noticed how the kitten opened one orange eye and followed him until he rounded the corner with a carefully watchful gaze.

Reborn found himself thinking that cats can be positively amusing, even when he saw the dog manage to swing a clawed paw at the unsuspecting kitten that sent the feline scampering quite gracelessly with a long, almost childish, shriek.

**3.**

It was seven in the evening and Reborn had been walking down the street, returning from his research on the skylark – blackmail always helped and a few photos of him snuggling with Hibird might be enough to get him to cooperate at least a bit more willingly – when he spotted a certain tiny feline walking along the sidewalk in the opposite direction than Reborn, weaving its way through the walking people with ease, thanks to the small size and skinny body. The hitman halted and lifted his gaze, slightly holding down his fedora to prevent sunlight from exposing his face, as the kitten finally noticed him, slowing down and finally stopping a few meters away. Clearly, the animal had recognized him, if the narrowing of the irises was anything to go by, and the baby – for the laugh of it – gestured at it to come closer with a finger.

At first, the cat seemed to regard him intensely, eyes slitting even further as he stood still as a statue, observing. Slowly, its tail twitched slightly and Reborn thought that the kitten had gulped uncertainly, though why a cat would act like that remained a mystery.

They stared at each other, both unblinking and poker-faced (in Reborn's case). Though in a match of a stare down Reborn was always victorious so when the kitten slowly blinked, it didn't come as a surprise, although the hitman suspected it could become a worthy opponent when it grew up.

The cat continued to watch him carefully, not even so much as twitching now, and finally, Reborn decided to walk up to it, to get a closer look at the feline.

The cat had seemed to sigh resignedly(?) and sit down, curling the oddly fluffy but, nevertheless, very beautiful tail around its carefully placed paws, as the very tip twitched and fluttered from time to time. The fur seemed a golden brown in the sunlight and the long white whiskers stretched far – as if too long for a kitten, just like the ears seemed to stick out. Reborn couldn't put his finger on what breed it was – actually, he wasn't certain that he'd ever _seen_ one like this. It must be in it's growth spurts, judging by the overly long legs and head that was a bit bigger than the proportion would suggest, just like all normal growing kittens had.

Now that he thought of it, the kitten was certain to grow up into a beautiful feline, even despite the easily-unnerved attitude.

Reborn observed it from under the fedora and the silence thickened between them.

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"...What's your name at least?"

Honestly, this was an annoying (though admittedly fascinating) specialty about cats – Reborn couldn't read their minds. Dogs, he could. Bugs and insects were almost his native language. Dolphin and amphibian too; talking to Leon could be a pleasant change from talking to people – and many other languages, human or not.

But not cats. Cats were mysterious and prideful beings that had their own society and way of thinking that couldn't be comprehended so easily. Their minds were closed off from others and only seemed to open up when they wanted it to.

The cat watched him silently, lightly inclining its head as the sunset orange eyes only seemed to gleam brighter in the evening light.

...Its ears constantly twitched.

They twitched towards the sounds of birds chirping and cars passing in the distance and despite the blank face that the creature (attempted to) dutifully maintain, it looked so...

It looked so goddamn _adorable_ that Reborn couldn't prevent himself from stretching a hand to pet it. The cat startled and jerked slightly back, regarding the hand with mild exasperation as if it didn't deign a pet worthy of a creature like itself but was fairly accustomed to being a target for one.

It then breathed out of its nose curtly, making a sort of irritated whistling sound that felines tend to make when they are not please, and it's tail twitched much more prominently and impatiently. It shifted a few steps away, staying just millimeters away from the hitman's fingers and showing that it did _not_ want to be pet. Reborn lowered his hand, frankly disappointed because the kitten's fur looked to be outmost pleasant to touch.

He sighed but didn't persist.

"Honestly though, are you male or female?"

The cat stared at the hitman for a long, long time, as if not believing what it heard, and the hitman would bet that it was dismay that passed in its features. Then it almost sighed and looked away, a gloomy black air of depression descending around it.

"...Meow?"

_...Do I look like a girl that much to you?_

Reborn chuckled at that, smirking teasingly.

"A boy it is."

...

An hour later, at the Sawada house, he caught Tsuna standing idiotically in front of a mirror with a highly displeased expression as he muttered something continuously and turned around, at times trying to pat down his hair, failing epically as it just sprang back to their usual places much to the boy's frustration.

Reborn was curious and walked soundlessly a bit closer just in time to hear a low mutter.

"Drat. I really do look like a girl."

Reborn paused and then smirked, as a sudden realization dawned him.

...The brat's starting to understand the need to get manlier and more badass.

Reborn walked out of the room with a feeling that his training was paying off and the boy finally started thinking of becoming a man he's supposed to be.

He closed the door to the bedroom as a passing cloud momentarily blocked the sun and once the light returned, Reborn didn't see a small fluffy kitten sitting in front of the mirror in the otherwise empty room, looking just as disgruntled as it had been before and staring at the reflection critically.

It sighed and tried to pat down the fluffy tail with its adorably tiny paw but didn't succeed in making it even _slightly_ less puffy.

"Meooow..."

_Draaat_...

**4.**

"Dame-Tsuna, do you ever feed the cat?"

"H-huh? What?"

"The cat. I never saw you feed him. Or Mamma, for that case either."

"The cat?"

"Yes, the cat. You know, the ridiculously little creature with a super fluffy tail and an affinity to clumsiness and falling, despite being a feline? The one that lives in your house and constantly hides somewhere so that even _I_ can't find him? You _do_ know about him, right?"

"Oh, the cat? Um... Well, he's usually full. Most of the time."

Reborn wondered what the boy murmured after that. Something along the lines 'when no one snatches the food from under his nose'. Reborn shrugged mentally, assuming the boy meant crows and pigeons who snatched food away. That does happen in nature sometimes. That was precisely what Reborn was teaching the boy through taking away his food at meals – mafia is a lot like nature, with the natural selection and survival of the fittest.

"Hm. Well, I guess he is. If he's allowed outside, he must hunt, like all proper carnivores should."

"...Right. Yeah, that must be it."

Reborn glanced at Tsuna during this uncharacteristically awkward exchange where the boy hadn't once shrieked and had looked away with thinned lips as he glanced out of the window of his room absently. The hitman hit him for that which earned him a shriek of pain from the boy and a tirade of self-pity that was cut short by Leon's baseball bat form. Reborn could still hear the brunet complaining mentally. (Finally, a normal response from the useless teen).

After a little while, he caught a slight mutter and looked up to see Tsuna tinted slightly red and looking flustered for some reason.

"Dame-Tsuna?"

"...He's clumsy, huh?"

"What? Who?"

"The cat. He's clumsy, is he?"

Reborn snorted and waved a hand dismissively. "Yes, he is. A real klutz. Really, he reminds me of you at times – like you having such powerful blood running in you but always acting like a total wimp and the cat being a feline and felines are supposed to be graceful from their very birth, though personally I'd say that's an exaggeration. And the way you're both such scaredy cats about dogs-"

As the hitman continued, he noted how the boy's back tensed slightly. Well, he thought, the boy must have took offense off this since it's his cat they're talking about. Not that Reborn cared enough to make anything of it.

"-though I suppose, like master, like pet."

"..."

"What was that, Baka-Tsuna?"

"Cats aren't pets, Reborn."

"...I suppose so."

They both sat in silence, Reborn examining the boy's back and Tsuna scribbling down on the homework paper, once again in an unusually awkward silence, though that was mostly on Tsuna's part – Reborn was never awkward in the worst of situations.

Later, when Reborn went downstairs for dinner – though not before threatening Tsuna to 'finish the homework or no dinner' – he heard something incredibly light descend down the stairs carefully, though a quiet screech of claws against wood as it must've tumbled down betrayed its position and soon, he saw a certain kitten walk past his chair, glancing up at the hitman momentarily, and trotting soundlessly over to Nana who was cutting the vegetables.

The cat sat patiently next to the woman's feet, head slightly inclined to the left and tail curled against the tiny body, looking up at her with large orange eyes and as soon as Nana noticed, she was quick to crouch down to his level and scratch behind an ear, much to the kitten's joy considering the purring that Reborn could hear even from the other side of the room. After a couple of minutes, the delighted feline opened his eyes and meowed very quietly. Nana had clasped her hands, exclaiming, "Of course, dear!" as she reached over the kitchen counter and took out a small package of crackers that she handed down to the kitten who without any hesitation or second thought took it into his small mouth and dashed through the room and back to the staircase, dragging the small box all the way in an endearingly cute way.

Though right before going upstairs, he put down the package down for a moment and looked back at Nana with shining kitten eyes, the orange flickering softly as sky flames would, be the eyes lit with them.

"Meow!"

The woman smiled brightly.

"You're welcome, sweetheart!"

Reborn watched the whole scene silently, amusement curling his lips upwards, though if one were to look more carefully, they'd notice the slight puzzlement in the hitman's onyx eyes.

He wondered how a cat could display gratitude so sincerely.

Though later, when he absently questioned why Tsuna wasn't hungry despite not having dinner for failing to complete his homework on time, he didn't notice an empty cracker package tucked carefully under the bed where no one would see.

**5.**

"Gyahahahaha! The cookies are Lambo-san's!"

"No! Bad Lambo! Cookies for everyone!"

"Lambo, I-Pin, let's calm down and share them, ne?"

"Stupid Fuuta, Lambo-san won't share cookies! Cookies are only Lambo-san's!"

"Now now, I have cookies enough for everybody. Cookies filled with love and care! Eat them with enjoyment, please."

"B-Bianchi! Don't feed the kids with those! That's just too cruel!"

"Then you eat them, Tsuna."

"N-no! They're- they're- Bianchi, n- I'm not going to s-sur_vive_-"

"She's right, Dame-Tsuna. If you refuse to share Bianchi's cookies with others, then you must very eager to try them, right?"

"No! No, Reborn! You got it absolutely wrong! I- UGH!"

"Are you enjoying them, Tsuna? Do you feel the love I put into them? Do you?"

"Dame-Tsuna, don't turn so green. It's rude to Bianchi. A proper gentlemen knows when to suck it up and act politely to a lady, especially since you're a future mafia boss."

Tsuna, face full of weirdly purple cookies with a visible green stench and creepy creatures wiggling in the dough, blanched as he ran for the bathroom to wash it off before he inhaled any of the obviously poisonous gas, and Reborn smiled contentedly. His student was learning to be fast in situations where every second counted – like when he had to force himself to not breathe or else he'd die. He heard the sound of water turned on and a groan resounded through the Sawada house as someone gasped for air desperately.

The hitman watched the kids chase around for Nana's cookies without care – who'd care that Tsuna might pass out from some poison? – and Bianchi huffed, returning to the pot she was working on - pink steam? that ought to be thrice as poisonous as usual – and he waited as any second now the whiny brunet would stomp into the room, complaining to Reborn for smashing the plate into his face and of course being ignored by everybody. Strangely though, the water stopped running a good minute ago and there was still no sound of the brunet. Did he go upstairs to sulk? Might be it.

When Reborn headed to the stairs, he saw something brown flash past him and into the room. He turned around to see the same blur climb up the armchair with tiny but sharp claws, the chair the baby usually sat in, and everyone in the room paused to look at the small brown kitten sitting indignantly on top of the chair, gazing at all of them with wide sunset-colored eyes.

It glared accusingly at Reborn, for some reason, and then turned to Nana, who'd been sitting on the couch and knitting.

"Meow? Meooow? Mew."

The woman had sprang up, swiftly walked over to the sink, and poured some water into a glass. She put it on the table and petted the kitten lightly above the neckline who looked up at her with utterly grateful eyes and jumped onto a chair, putting his little paws on the table to stand up and started drinking up the water as the pink tongue flashing rapidly. All the other occupants in the room had been silent as they watched the yet unknown to them small feline who already finished and walked back up the armchair and sat on it, putting the paws under it's body and measuring the watching people with an unblinking soft orange gaze.

The silence was, however, cut short when Lambo had decided sneak up at the animal from behind and tug the cat's tail that had been hanging off the armchair. The kitten let out a long mewl that sounded almost like a scream, and to the cow child's glee, the feline jumped off the chair, said tail sticking upwards pridefully, the slight twitching of the fluffy brown tip betraying annoyance as he walked out of the room and upstairs. I-Pin and Fuuta watched after it with curiosity, hands painfully itching to pet it, especially after the irresistibly adorable eyes the kitten gave Nana while Bianchi smiled into her palm and asked the brunette woman about it.

Reborn snorted.

Oddly enough, Lambo was the one to ask the smart question.

"Mamma, what's its name?"

Which was something that seemed to catch Nana off guard. She looked thoughtful as she put a finger to her lips and looked up to the ceiling, apprehensive.

"Ara? Hm... Well... I don't-"

"Lambo-sama will call it Baka-Neko! Baka-Neko!"

"No! Is Mamma's cat! No calling Baka-Neko! Is bad manners!"

"Yeah, Lambo, that's just rude. Besides, Mamma didn't tell us its name yet."

"But I can call Dame-Tsuna Baka-Tsuna! So I can call Baka-Neko Baka-Neko too!"

"Yes, well, it's just-"

"Ara, why don't you just call him Koneko? I usually call him that!"

Everyone stared at Nana who smiled brightly with her index finger pointed up as if she just stated a brilliant idea. Everyone exchanged looks and nodded.

I-Pin raised her hands and cheered. "I go find Koneko-chan! Want pet!" And with that she shot through the room and up the stairs, Lambo following soon after with Fuuta trailing behind and once again there was laughter in the house, loud footsteps and yelps.

And then there a shrieking sound that echoed through the house.

"MEOOOOOOOOOW!"

...Ah. That'd be I-Pin petting the animal. And Fuuta. And Lambo was...

"MeeeaaaOOOOW! OOOW!"

...probably ripping off the poor creature's tail. He could hear paws banging on the floor in desperation as another howl of pain rolled through the house, followed by a cry for mercy.

Absently, Reborn wondered if Tsuna passed out after all or something because it would be strange for him not to come back. Everyone knows Tsuna is always the epicenter of all chaos and universal screw ups, whether it's intentional or not.

Why Reborn felt as if Tsuna was always there remained a question shoved into the very back of his mind.

The kids had found a new plaything besides Tsuna and that counted for something.

* * *

**A/N:** Um... Yeah. New story.

...Really, it was just a plot bunny. It started with me thinking why Tsuna doesn't get along with dogs, water and rising early. Honestly, the way he acts around dogs and couldn't swim before Reborn's training led me to a whole new... thought.

I don't want to outright state it, but I think you all know who the kitten is ^^

The fic's really random, though. I just wrote down pieces from my head that I just couldn't _not_ write and today, after cleaning it up a bit, I found that it might be a plausible read. (I hope it was).

Er, and I think that the very first snippet takes place before the Kokuyo arc. The ones with Lambo and Fuuta are the ones slightly after Fuuta already joined in. You know, I'm basing the scene times on the fact that Reborn isn't around Tsuna 24/7 and sometimes leaves for *cough* spying *cough*.

And what is this canon timeline you speak of? (*smacks myself* Bad River. Must do proper research. *smacks some more*)

I'm very sorry if the scenes don't seem logically tied. And the ending way lame... It's just that I had these images in my head and I had to get them out and this is what came of it...

There are going to be more characters! There'll be lots of Reborn ones too 'cause it's fun screwing around with him. (PleasedonotreadthatRebornit'sjustajokereallydon'ttakeitseriouslyhahaI'mscrewed).

And I apologize for the lack of Guardians here. The scenes here mostly happen when no one aside from Reborn and the ones living (permanently) in the Sawada house are around which is when most of the funny stuff happens in my head. I promise there are going to be some of the Guardians later on!

On a side note, I hope you _did_ enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it ^^ I'm sorry if you didn't!

Love, peace and cookies

River Melody

P.S. Ah, of course! Cookies for absolutely lovely readers! :3 *hands over cookies*


	2. Reborn II

**Cat**

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**Warnings:** AU, canon-bending, mild language, possible OOCness and cats. Lots of cats. And lots of animals as well as animal talk. And cuteness for that matter. I'd even say _too_ much of it, at times. And randomness too. There will also be some supernatural (naturally). Please discard of any expectations of a decent chronologically-logical order too.

Aside from that, there is also some twists in regards to Tsuna's fighting style and knowledge of certain things.

* * *

**6.**

"Exactly what are you doing, Dame-Tsuna?"

"Hiiiieee! Reborn!"

"Yes. Precisely – it's me. I wonder since when your guesses have started to be so accurate. Now are going to bother to explain why you're covered in cats?"

Tsuna blinked at him.

Then blinked at the black cat sitting next to him and rubbing against his forearm in ecstasy. And at the ginger tomcat that was sleeping against his right leg on the bench the brunet was sitting on. And at the brown and white tabby cat lying on the pavement right next to Tsuna's left foot, paws invisible under the thick fur covering them as it sometimes lazily flicked it's tail and eyed everyone around with almond-colored eyes. And at the white cat curled up in his lap that opened one blue eye and nudged his leg with a clawed paw to indicate that Tsuna better continue scratching it's ears, _or else_. And at the couple of Bengal cats swinging paws at each other playfully, though careful not to accidentally scratch Tsuna. The boy was about to look back at Reborn when a small grey kitten with green eyes leaned forward from the nest it made in the fluffy hair of Tsuna's and swung it's little white paws over boy's nose as it rubbed against the boy's forehead.

Reborn looked fixedly as Tsuna smiled and scratched the kitten's back to the latter's delight as it snuggled against the brunet's palm affectionately and purred loudly. The hitman reached for Leon who, somewhat reluctantly, transformed into a hammer.

When the hitman took a step closer with the intent of beating the boy six ways to Sunday for skipping training with Reborn and instead lazing around petting cats, he was met with seven pairs of suddenly slitted eyes, as the tabby and the tomcat glared icily at him while the black cat hissed furiously, tail puffed at least four time in size in sheer moments and the white one growled louder and louder as it's tail whipped from side to side threateningly. Both Bengals made a menacing sound as if a volcano was about to explode. The adorable little kitten on Tsuna's head had stood up, ears turned backwards as it stood on the very tips of it's paws, every fur on it's tiny body standing up as it hissed violently, a dangerous green light flickering in it's irises, one that dared him to take another step with such intent as he had.

Involuntarily, Reborn stopped at the heavy gazes that sent waves of condensed and utterly wild ferocity and his own black gaze stopped on Tsuna's – and the hitman started a bit at the wide and completely clueless look in the boy's innocent brown eyes as he looked around himself and at the cats that had all simultaneously lifted their mental barriers to send one clear and short message to Reborn.

_Fuck off._

And Leon had already changed back to his original lizard form too, looking at Reborn with slight reproving yellow eyes and the hitman finally realized that the lizard didn't like hurting Tsuna for reasons obscured to the Arcobaleno. Leon wasn't hesitant to hit Dino and certainly did not have second thoughts about shooting people, but it seemed he didn't like to be one to bring pain to Tsuna.

Reborn's gaze sharpened and he slowly lowered his hand, turning away from the brunet.

"Dame-Tsuna, I expect you at home in twenty minutes sharp. If you're not there, I do not bear responsibility for my actions towards your pets."

Reborn felt another hot wave of contempt from the felines that clearly did not like the threat, nor being called that, but it was surprisingly cut short by a calming and open presence that even reached slightly over to Reborn who turned around.

"Reborn, I told you already. Cats aren't pets."

Reborn rarely saw such a look in Tsuna's eyes. In those completely normal golden brown eyes that emitted acceptance so pure that even cats seemed attracted by it, and there was a hint of something that made Reborn feel like he uttered something rather... rude.

Tsuna's irises narrowed slightly. "You wouldn't like it if someone called you a brat just for looking like a baby, ne?"

The hitman's black eyes widened a fraction.

...If whoever saw the boy look like that still called him Dame-Tsuna, then the person was an incurable idiot.

Reborn lifted his fedora and Tsuna watched back.

The brunet didn't blink. Or twitch, or move for that matter. Reborn stared at him and the whole experience reminded him strongly of the stare down a while ago, with the Sawada's cat.

The hitman could imagine those golden brown eyes as soft orange ones and before his mind could wander to some impossible fantasies – impossible even for him who always believed that a human mind is highly uncreative and any ideas that might pass are bound to be something quite possible – he clicked his tongue curtly.

"...Dame-Tsuna, you're wasting my time."

He'd left with that, feeling eight unblinking gazes follow him.

**7.**

"Meow?"

"Caw. Caaaw!"

"Meeew... Meow!"

"Caw. Caw... Caaaw?"

"Yeah, she _is_ right. That dog's doing is quite outrageous."

"Caw!"

"Certainly. Since when did being a dog of a human grouping like yakuza bring any prerogative in face of nature?"

"Meow mew! Meooow!"

To an outsider's eye, it seemed like a rather peculiar sight – sitting up on a wall was a small brown kitten of unknown breed, elegantly posed almost as a statue with a tail fluffier than imaginable, while up on a tree's branch sat a furiously flapping crow with outmost expressive gestures. Leaning onto the window of the second floor room, an infant in a suit stood with crossed arms watching the other from under his fedora.

If that wasn't strange enough, it was rather obvious that the infant was discussing something with the other two animals and really, that would've been okay, since he was obviously a baby with no common sense, but it was entirely too apparent to not notice how the other two animals seemed to respond. And how the baby talked like a grown up, no less.

Though this was the city of Namimori and this was, by far, not the weirdest thing people ever saw. Technically, it was a widely-regarded belief in the town that if you pretend it's not strange then it isn't.

Which was what Reborn took as an advantage that allowed him to do as he pleased as long as it didn't break any Namimori property or citizens.

Well, much of them anyway. Plus, Hibari could always get rid of any evidence. After all, the Disciplinary Committee can make people disappear.

"Caw, caaaw, caw. Craaaw!"

_Really, that stupid dog goes around boasting, and does nothing but damage. He literally marks anything he sees, even the running-wheel-metalls!_

"Meow? Mew meow, myow."

_Running-wheel-metalls? They're called 'cars', Karasu-chan._

"Caw."

_Whatever._

"Do you reckon we should do something about him? Maybe teach him a lesson or two? I have a student who can beat up the yakuza boss and humiliate the dog."

The crow and the kitten exchanged looks that Reborn couldn't decipher which annoyed him slightly. If Tsuna was here, he'd beat the idiot to vent out the frustration, though then again, it wasn't as if any of the animals could decipher Reborn's own thoughts.

"...Caw. Ca-aw."

_...I'd rather not. Besides, karma always gets 'em in the end_.

"Meow!"

_Yeah!_

The hitman shrugged.

"Suit yourselves. Dame-Tsuna is stupid but he can put up a flashy show-off fight for territory, even if he is a pathetic coward about dogs."

The crow gave a sly sideways glance to the feline who turned his head away, grumbling something even Reborn with his sensitive hearing couldn't catch.

If cats could pout, this would be it.

The bird then looked at Reborn with unreadable black beady eyes, much like his own.

"Caw... Caaw, caw? Caaw."

_I wonder... This Dame-Tsuna, who is he? I bet he's an interesting human to have Reborn-dono as a teacher_.

Reborn's eye caught a movement and he turned to see the kitten's relaxed pose stiffening as the feline looked at the black bird with slitting orange eyes. The cat's ears seemed to perk slightly up and he shifted a bit closer to the other two.

Continuing to watch the brown feline, Reborn answered.

"He's the only heir left to the Vongola. It is my duty to train him into a fitting Vongola boss, even if it takes me my whole life. I promised the Ninth after all." Reborn's eyes shadowed slightly. "And I don't break my promises."

A silence descended then as the bird looked closely at the young feline sitting still as statue, while the baby hitman seemed deep in thought, until the crow coughed into a wing, bringing the attention back to her.

"Caw, caw caw... Caaaw?"

_Well, I do understand and respect your vow... But did you ever consider what the child thinks of this?_

Reborn raised an eyebrow.

"He's the only heir left – and it's his destiny anyway. He'll be a loser kid in school and frankly, I think he's much happier with having _friends_ around him for a change. Honestly, it's as if the brat didn't – still doesn't really – know how to talk with other people. There's plenty of stupid and weak kids around and even they can muster up at least a couple of buddies and neutral acquaintances." Reborn slightly inclined his head. "Though I can't really understand why he was so friendless before me because even _cats_ seem protective over him, not speaking of his Guardians. Human females usually resent going near boys when they're at such age and yet the boy has two girls flocking around him even if he behaves like a total idiot around them. Especially Kyoko."

Another amused glance that the grown female crow sent the kitten and the hitman watched the brown feline from under his fedora who seemed a bit... distraught.

He was trying to hide it with all his might but it was inefficient because the slight twitching of the whiskers gave it away. Becoming more and more amused, Reborn smirked slightly, though there was a touch of puzzlement. He'd think that the cat would protest at Reborn for calling Tsuna like that and telling such embarrassing things – though of course, cats don't have masters so Koneko might simply not feel the need to defend the boy's name. The hitman restrained himself from pushing because he respected animals as beings of high moral and precise inner discipline in regards to nature and the rules of surviving.

"Caw. Caaaw...?"

_Still. You don't seem fond of the human child but...?_

"When I am not fond of a person, everyone in the vicinity knows about it. And what other attitude can I have towards him when the kid's a constantly complaining, lousy, undisciplined, clumsy wimp with barely any backbone and an intimidation level of a newborn kitten?"

The orange-eyed feline seemed very flustered at that statement, looking away with a huff as he stuck his nose upwards, the annoyed flicking of the cat's fluffy tail conveying his attitude towards Reborn's insults better than words ever can.

The Arcobaleno snorted. The cat must've taken the insult to his owner to heart.

"Caw caaaw. Caaaaaaw."

_And yet you seem much harsher on the boy when you're around him rather than when you're not in his company. I saw how you treat the child and the way you talk about him right now is waaaaaay gentler than usual._

Reborn saw the kitten, still sitting half-turned away, watch both of them out of the corner of his soft orange eye, evidently listening.

The baby sighed inaudibly and his lips thinned a tad.

"...Tsuna was brought up as an ordinary person with no relation to any sort of supernatural or even sky flames. If it hadn't been Tsuna but another person, no matter how good in sports and academics, such a person wouldn't have had any better reaction to what Tsuna faces. The fact that Dame-Tsuna didn't have any friends before, nor any sort of appreciation for his presence in this world, apart from his saint of a mother, actually taught him to value what he has, no matter how... eccentric." Reborn didn't want to voice out the particular people he referred to but the crow seemed to understand and nod. "And despite being a total fish-leg with the only defense being his lung capacity beyond that of an elephant's, he has... some characteristics that are quite necessary. Especially for a future Vongola boss – Nono had had enough bloodshed and he wants the legacy of death to end with him." Reborn looked up at the clear sky, thoughtful of whether he should continue. "You could say that compared to some of the spoiled brats and given that he's only known of the mafia for less than half a year, even with the earful his complaining is, Baka-Tsuna is... well... Considering how he tries his best despite knowing he's a total loser at things just because it's for his family, he turned to be a decent kid. I have high expectations for him that I'll beat into that thick skull of his."

Reborn glanced down at the kitten who didn't so much as twitch all this time and he found the animal staring at him.

Nonplussed, the hitman slightly squinted his eyes back.

"Reborn-kun! Time for lunch!"

Nana's shout interrupted the pause and Reborn corrected his fedora. The crow unfolded her wings and saluted playfully with one of them, afterwards taking off, the thin branch creaking as the weight left.

The Arcobaleno turned to view the kitten who appeared to be in deep thought before glancing at Reborn in a both sharp and soft way and then nodding lightly. The feline then stood up, stretching in a graceful arch, and trotted along the wall, hopping down onto the street and out of sight. Snorting inaudibly, the baby hitman hopped off the windowsill and headed downstairs.

When Tsuna came home late from visiting Yamamoto's sushi bar and received a kick to the stomach, Reborn was quite surprised when the boy looked guilty and didn't complain like usual.

Instead, he apologized to Reborn and said that he'd go to bed early so he could start off early tomorrow since it was Monday, possibly with a jog through the town. And maybe, a suicidical spar with Hibari for that matter. If he'll scrape up some guts to.

The hitman stared at the brunet who passed by, apparently oblivious of Reborn's skepticism as he trudged upstairs, careful not to tumble down.

...Well.

That was new.

**8.**

"Dame-Tsuna, it's just a vacuum cleaner. I reckoned Mamma would like one as a gift – what with all the dirt you brats bring into her house. I even asked Kyoko and Haru over there and they said it was a wonderful idea. Quit being so stupid, Baka-Tsuna."

Reborn nodded in Tsuna's and the kids' general direction as he leaned onto the cleaning utensil with a hand, a smug look etched onto his face in a very permanent manner.

The kids ignored him and laughed as they ran around the front yard in glee.

The girls continued chatting about the special prize oven that was on sale today in the store.

Tsuna, who'd walked out of the house upon Reborn calling him, stared at the cleaner.

He paled.

Reborn's brow twitched in annoyance and he slapped the boy harshly, getting a barely restrained but still ear-splitting scream for that. It was a stupid reaction to Reborn's hand-picked gift and honestly, wasn't the boy supposed to be happy that his mother finally got an easier way to clean the house? Honestly, the boy was irritating. And he actually gave off the impression of loving his mother even more than Lambo.

Deciding to ignore the boy, Reborn marched up to the door as he rolled the package with the vacuum cleaner on Leon's cart-like form, entering without a knock. He payed no attention to the strangled noises Tsuna was making from behind him.

"Ara? Ohayou, Reborn-kun!"

Nana glanced over her shoulder, absently flipping the pancake she was frying on the pan. She flipped it again, not even looking at it, with a proficiency that would leave most cooks envious and then slipped it off onto a plate with nearly twenty other pancakes stacked in a perfect tower.

"Good morning, Mamma. I have a present for you!"

Nana clasped the hand without the spatula to her cheek, smiling.

"Oh my! Reborn-kun, you shouldn't have!"

"Of course I should've, and I did, for showing me such hospitality, it is my obligation as a gentleman. It's one of the best this season."

"My! And what would that... be..."

That was when Tsuna burst into the room with a long shriek and Reborn turned around, ready to kick the boy's leg when he saw the ash-colored face as the boy scampered past the cleaner, casting wary looks at it as if it were on fire, as he lunged for his mother, clutching her hands and shaking his head.

"I'm so sorry kaa-san, I _tried_ to tell him, I really did, but he just didn't _listen, _you know Reborn never listens to me, and he brought this _horrible_ thing into our house and-"

"It's okay, Tsu-kun."

Reborn's self-satisfied smirk slowly faded when he looked at Nana's expression.

It struck him deeper than he'd like to admit.

She was... smiling. Quite widely and one would've thought she was very happy with the gift if they didn't have a look at her eyes.

He, the number one hitman, Nono's most trusted ally, the Sun Arcobaleno Reborn, actually _gulped_.

(Dear God, he sounded like Lambo there. Too much coffee.)

"K-kaa-san." Tsuna stuttered, taking a step backwards and slowly retreating until his back hit the wall and he still continued inching away as he slowly back-stepped and then hid behind a wall, only sticking out his head, golden brown eyes saucer-wide and unblinking as he stared in silence at his mother.

Reborn realized that Dame-Tsuna was _terrified_.

"Reborn-kun isn't at fault here. I should thank him for his generous gift – why thank you Reborn!"

Nana smiled even wider, her eyes closed, and Reborn felt severely out of his plate.

He decided that this was the right time to demonstrate how good the vacuum cleaner was and leaned down to press the big red start button, saying, "Mamma, let me show you how this thing works. I'm quite certain you will find it useful-"

Too late, the hitman understood the mistake he made.

As the machine whirred to life, a loud noise coming from it, Reborn only had enough time to glimpse Nana whose smooth hair had started bristling much like Tsuna's did a few days ago with the chihuahua but unlike the boy, the woman looked frankly scary with darkened brown eyes and irises that maybe even slitted a bit. The spatula in her hand seemed much more threatening all of a sudden.

The hitman didn't have much time to contemplate on whether to turn off the cleaner already when something brown-haired darted from behind the wall, past the roaring machine, and at Reborn, snatching the baby up onto his arms without slowing down and flying out of the room and the house altogether. The children and the two girls glanced at him curiously as Tsuna zoomed past them before they realized that something was very very wrong. Intuitively knowing that if Tsuna was running then so should all of them, they followed him, in hopes that he knew where he was going as Haru exclaimed 'Hahi!' and Kyoko tried to ask what was happening, though the boy remained oddly silent.

The hitman looked up at Tsuna's fear-stricken face and the even more ridiculously puffed out hair as the brunet's eyes searched for cover and then he ducked out of the gates, rushed past the front wall and under the right fence, gesturing frantically at the others to follow his example and curling up, covered Reborn with an arm as he closed his eyes tightly.

There was a deafeningly loud crash heard from the house with a strange hissing sound that accompanied it and then a shockwave pulsed through the place and if not for where Tsuna chose to hide, Reborn might've experienced some unpleasant time, not talking about Lambo, I-Pin and Fuuta or the girls.

A few beats later, the sound calmed down and slowly, the brunet uncurled, taking away the hand from Reborn who hopped off. The others stared questioningly at Tsuna, the inquiry hanging in the air as clear as day.

The boy took a shaky breath, closing his eyes for a few seconds to cool off, before opening them and turning to Reborn, not accusing but still.

"I understand that you didn't know about it, Reborn, but could you please refrain from giving a vacuum cleaner to kaa-san in the future?"

"...Of course. I figured out that much, Dame-Tsuna."

"Hahi? But every house wife needs a vacuum cleaner! It's so much better than a broom! When I become Tsuna-san's bride, I'll definitely get one!"

Tsuna stared at Haru morosely, as if not understanding how she could say such things before remembering something and sighing exasperatedly as he shook his head.

"L-let's just say that nor kaa-san nor me like vacuum cleaners. I just don't like them - at _all_, frankly - but kaa-san literally _hates_ them. It runs in the family, really."

Six pairs of eyes stared at Tsuna.

"...There's a hate for vacuum cleaners that runs in your family?"

"Hahi, that's horrible!"

"Oh my God, Tsuna-kun!"

"Gyahahaha, Dame-Tsuna is afraid of a stupid cleaner!"

"Shut up, Lambo! I'm sure Tsuna doesn't cry from every little thing like you do!"

"Yeah, Lambo, you are coward yourself!"

Tsuna sweat-dropped as the chattering resumed as a sign that it was getting okay now though the talking quieted when they all heard the creak of an opening door and died down entirely as they heard footsteps. Gulping audibly, Tsuna, as discretely as possible, peeked around the corner (as did all the others) to see Nana walk out of the gates, carrying a suspiciously smoking trash bag with a broken hose sticking out slightly, her usually bright eyes shadowed as she dumped the bag onto the trash cans with such contempt that Reborn hadn't had a clue could reside in such an innocent woman.

Her hair still bristled.

When the brunette walked back into the house and closed the door with a loud slam, Tsuna breathed out, looking painfully relieved as he turned to the others behind him.

"I-I think we better go take a walk or something. Anything, really. Because, um, kaa-san doesn't like seeing people after this. Like, preferably not for the rest of the day?"

Everyone hastily nodded, exchanging nervous looks.

Reborn had come to know that Sawada Nana was a fearsome woman.

...Though later she did feed them the pancakes as if nothing happened.

Reborn decided that it was best not to have any vacuum cleaners in the Sawada house.

**9.**

"Oi, Dame-Tsuna. The kids are going out for a walk – you should go too."

"...No."

"There isn't anyone else to go with them, Baka-Tsuna. The girls are busy and Mamma will return in minutes to start on making dinner, so the only one left is you. I believe you understand the consequences of leaving the brats with Gokudera or Yamamoto, or do you not?"

"Why can't we stay at home? I don't want to go outside."

"Taking a walk with your dying will it is."

"N-no!"

"Then go. What's with you being so stubborn?"

"...-nna rain..."

"What?"

"I don't want to go because it's gonna rain soon."

Reborn shook his head at the lamest excuse he ever heard.

"Dame-Tsuna, look out of the window. Do you see any clouds? Right, you don't, and neither do I. Now go get some fresh air before your brains rot completely."

"...Fine."

The hitman watched as the unusually moody boy – who yawned as he trudged upstairs to get changed – with invisible but present confusion. Tsuna was being particularly bratty today and it seemed quite tempting to give a good beating session, although Reborn wondered if it had to do with him forcing the brunet to run through the town naked yesterday just because Reborn wanted a coffee from the café on the other end of Namimori.

...Nah.

Tsuna faced much worse things already – including running in his boxers in front of _Hibari_ of all people – and he was as good as new in a few hours after those incidents. As long as the boy remained fine and (mostly) healthy, and his friends for that matter too, the boy was actually surprisingly adaptive (even if he complained endlessly) – Reborn knew full well that a normal teenager would've freaked and gone insane ages ago, like the red-haired boy with glasses that wanted to return something a few days ago to the Sawada house and was utterly creeped out by just seeing Bianchi in a bikini.

Reborn snapped out of his thoughts when he heard the door open and walked into the corridor to see Nana come into the house, carrying a couple of bags with groceries. She put them down on the floor and wiped the sweat off her forehead. There, Reborn thought. It was hot outside, not mentioning a cloudless sky. That was when Tsuna entered the room, yelping a bit at the children that almost trampled him in their game of chase.

Nana looked at the boy with genuine surprise as she noticed the jacket he was pulling on.

"Are you going outside, Tsu-kun?"

Tsuna sighed dramatically and nodded as he crouched down to put on his shoes. "Yeah. Reborn... _insists_."

"Ara? But you should take an umbrella with you at least, Tsu-kun!"

Reborn, who had snatched a grape candy from Lambo and was eating it with pleasure almost choked as he looked at the woman with just barely concealed confusion, his brows creasing slightly. Tsuna had nodded at the woman's statement, fully agreeing as he stood up to reach for an umbrella on a shelf, though only succeeding in toppling over on his own feet as the whole contents on the shelf littered onto his head. An irritated groan was heard from under the pile and the hitman ignored it.

Reborn cleared his throat and walked up to the Nana's feet.

"...Mamma. Why do you and Tsuna keep implying that it's going to rain?"

The brunette woman looked down at the baby and smiled brightly.

"Just a hunch, Reborn-kun."

Tsuna, who had poked his head out of the pile of rubbish and watched his mother with hawk eyes, had seemed to breathe out soundlessly and scrambled to put everything into place, almost tumbling off the entrance step in the process.

Reborn raised an eyebrow but didn't comment.

...Goodness, the woman's smile was completely disarming.

After a good fifteen minutes of organizing the children – including Nana trying to give another umbrella to the children who blatantly refused, mostly in the face of Lambo and Fuuta, who had stated that today was the day least likely to have rain – the group finally exited the house and headed for the park, Tsuna dragging himself behind with a grey umbrella slung on his shoulder as he yawned from time to time, much to Reborn's irritation who gave him a kick for that.

The howls soothed the hitman's annoyed mood.

And they would've all enjoyed the walk – well, the kids definitely would've since Tsuna spent his pocket money on buying them extra big and double expensive ice cream in a stand, nevermind the boy's attitude towards that – and the passer byes glanced at Tsuna's umbrella with surprise as they looked at the burning sun and the melting ice cream in the children's hands, when Lambo suddenly stopped to look up at the sky.

Following his example, everyone flipped their heads up to see the spontaneously darkening clouds on the horizon as thunder soon raked the heavens in long rolls. The storm clouds seemed distant, but they drew closer with every minute. Soon enough, the group was sprinting down the streets, all trying to cover their heads from the hastening water dripping on them, except for Reborn who had his loyal Leon who dutifully turned into a small green umbrella.

Ten minutes away from home, a downpour started.

The children looked desperate as they ran harder, getting soaked to the bone and when Lambo sneezed, everyone heard a sound of an umbrella snapping open. They turned around to see Tsuna leaning forward to them, holding a grey umbrella over his head.

"Lambo, I-Pin, Fuuta, come here! Quickly!"

The boy crouched to offer a hand and Lambo was the first to take it without second thought, climbing up onto the boy's shoulder and settling there, right under the cover, safe from the rain as he sneezed again, though smiling lopsidedly as he giggled, continuously repeating 'Baka-Tsuna'. I-Pin followed soon after, with little to no hesitation as she sat on the other shoulder. Fuuta looked disheartened because he knew he was too big to fit under the umbrella but his face lightened when Tsuna turned around and crouched onto his knees, holding out his hands.

"Come on, Fuuta. You'll catch a cold like that!"

"...U-un, Tsuna-nii!"

And the young boy grinned and settled on Tsuna's back, wrapping his hands tightly around the teen's neck as the brunet held him up by his legs, though swaying slightly when he stood up. The umbrella almost slipped off but the blonde boy caught it with one hand and held it like that.

"Thanks, Fuuta."

Fuuta looked down to see the teen turn his head to him and was utterly delighted at the grateful smile Tsuna gave him.

The boy turned to look at Reborn who interrupted Tsuna even before he could say anything.

"No, Dame-Tsuna. I can walk perfectly fine by myself." _Besides, you look like this is as much as you can carry._

The brunet nodded, not arguing, and took a shaky step, and then another, and soon he was almost jogging down the street, feet and shoes completely soaked but smiling nevertheless, as he held the children clinging to him.

They all snuggled closer to him, seeking the warmth that Tsuna seemed to posses in a big quantity and was sharing without hesitation. Lambo buried into the boy's hair shamelessly while I-Pin was too polite, instead holding lightly onto the boy's neck. Fuuta's cheeks brushed against the boy's hair occasionally and the blonde suddenly remembered how soft the Sawada cat was to pat.

"Tsuna so warm!"

"Baka-Tsuna... So fluffy..."

"Tsuna-nii reminds me of Koneko..."

"..."

Reborn had been following right behind, watching the kids, including Tsuna, who didn't say anything to the kids, from under the green umbrella with an unreadable expression. The brunet ran a bit unsteadily, evidently not used to carrying such a number of children, but nonetheless offering them such without second thought.

Upon arriving at the house, they all burst through the door, running straight into the towels that Nana had had ready for them, having predicted the whole outcome with her, must be, motherly instinct. The woman fretted over the children, wiping the water off and pushing them into the direction of the bathroom as she turned on hot water in the bathtub. She wouldn't have tolerated any protests, not that were any – the kids were all-too-happy to have a nice warm bath after the cold shower they just had.

Though even Lambo deigned to remember that it was Tsuna who carried them through most of the run home, and really, it was utterly impossible to ignore the miserable picture the teen offered – hair almost flat against his head from being wet, sneakers and jeans soaked up to the knees, and so, to the teen's genuine surprise and protests, the children all took him by his hands and tugged him, quite efficiently for their size, to the bathroom with them. The boy tried telling them that he was honestly okay and that he can do without a bath when he sneezed, which only spurred the three to drag him with more force.

Lambo had laughed mockingly, though in a much too innocent manner to be convicted, "Nyahahahaha, Baka-Tsuna sneezes like a kitten!"

The door to the bathroom closed and there was a sound of an almighty splash. Reborn watched the whole scene take place along with Nana, looking from under his fedora with smirking eyes and maybe even a touch of very very small softening that was immediately quashed as it was most inappropriate to posses such an emotion for him.

Though when he looked up at Mamma who had a hand clasped over her cheek, he couldn't help but quirk his lips upwards at the completely earnest and bright happiness Nana had shining in her eyes as she chuckled, muttering so quietly that Reborn might've not caught it if not for his keen ears.

"Ara... I never dreamed of having such a big litter in my house... Tsu-kun has little brothers and a sister now. Makes me so happy!"

She turned to the hitman, leaning over, and inquired loudly with a grin. "Would you like some coffee, Reborn-kun? I've just made you a cup. Should be good after a rain like today, ne?"

And she left to the kitchen to finish the dinner that she was cooking for the family.

Reborn lingered on his spot for a moment, glancing from the door to the bathroom and back to Nana's humming figure.

...No, the Vongola Intuition can't explain this. Not at all. Even if it could've been some mysterious manifestation in Tsuna as a sky-weather weirdness or something, Nana had no Vongola blood in her.

So he shrugged mentally and went to accept the cup of coffee. Leon provided a warm robe and Reborn put on a pair slippers from the hallway closet, settling onto a chair as he listened to the sound rain falling relentlessly outside in quiet thuds against the window glass, and the sound of water running in the bathroom, occasional yells and splashes as well as screeches of obvious origin, and to the sizzling noises and tuneless songs Nana hummed under her breath, and he suddenly, for the first time in a long time...

For the first time in a long time, Reborn felt at home.

...

Later, when he walked into Tsuna's room to put up his hammock, he saw Tsuna lying in his bed, on his right side, with Fuuta cuddled against his stomach, I-Pin hugging his left arm and Lambo latched onto the boy's torso.

All of them sleeping peacefully.

Reborn was disgusted with himself for being literally unable to look away from the absolutely adorable sight. He just stood there, face carefully blank, until he felt Leon crawl off his fedora, onto the floor, heading towards Tsuna's bed as he climbed up, crept along the covers onto the teen's leg all the way up Tsuna's side and settled on the brunet's head, right among the gravity-screwed hair.

The lizard lay down, curled his tail around himself and closed his eyes, a bubble blowing from his nose.

Reborn stared for a good five minutes.

And then, ignoring his own inner pride and casting aside any protests his hard-earned reputation voiced – the reputation of one of the most heartless and ice-cold hitman in the mafia world – Reborn slightly moved and then walked over, climbing onto the bed, though uncharacteristically hesitating – _what in the world was he doing this was stupid and unforgivable for one of his caliber really what the fucking god was he allowing himself he was becoming pathetically soft oh Dame-Tsuna will so pay for this in the morning_ – and the hitman sat down beside the boy. Reborn watched the boy unblinking and Tsuna better pray he was asleep or else something bad was bound happen.

The Arcobaleno then sighed soundlessly and settled behind Tsuna's back, right between the boy's shoulder blades, secretly marveling in the soft warmth that spread out to him, enveloping and welcoming.

Reborn was asleep by the time a soft brown eye cracked open and a small smile stretched over a boy's face.

* * *

**A/N:** Okay, so, first of all, I decided that I don't want to rush this story and want to see how it comes.

Second of all, I love to write Nana so if you want less of her in this story, sorry, no. She's so amazing to write! :D (Even if I'm shameless OOCing her. But sorry - it's too much fun ^^)

Third of all, don't expect any 'bomb-shell' or rather 'cat-secret' revelations very soon.

No, I'm not really sorry for that.

I just find people not knowing about Tsuna so amusing that it will be a while until it gets to the 'finding out'. I want to play around for a small while before that to see exactly what I can write.

Though who knows me - even I don't know exactly what I'm going to write next.

Haha.

Love, peace and cookies

River Melody

P.S. COOOOOKIES OF COURSE! *hands out cookies on a plate*

P.P.S. Oh, and I think the next chapter is going to be with Hibari... At least that's what I'm writing at the moment. Though it's never guaranteed with me - any plans I might have usually screw over in the very beginning.

P.P.P.S. Oh, and check out the link on my profile - under the 'additional materials to FF'. Isn't it just _adorable_?


	3. Hibari

**Cat**

* * *

**Full Summary: **There's a cat that lives in the Sawada house. Or rather, a ridiculously small brown kitten with equally as ludicrous large eyes that glow orange at night and an almost always puffed tail, courtesy of an easily-frightened personality. Strangely enough, it's quite clumsy, though it might just be the pre-adolescent period. It's a mysterious cat – just like all cats are – and it appears only from time to time, though that too is supposedly normal for cats. Sometimes, it disappears without a trace or appears from nowhere, leaving Reborn unable to find it which is, by itself, an impressive thing.

And the thing is, Reborn sometimes sees it in some... unexpected places. Usually, in the epicenter of all chaos – where Tsuna usually is. With time, he realizes that the kitten always comes by in the absence of a certain brunet who has a strained relationship with a neighborhood dog and loves to sleep curled up in a ball – the boy even stares at empty spaces and doesn't blink a lot. And why does Tsuna know the upcoming weather better than the forecasters?

Slowly, Sawada Tsunayoshi's life becomes a lot deeper than it seems at first glance – in many different perspectives.

* * *

**Warnings:** AU, canon-bending, mild language, possible OOCness and cats. Lots of cats. And lots of animals as well as animal talk. And cuteness for that matter. I'd even say _too_ much of it, at times. And randomness too. There will also be some supernatural (naturally). Please discard of any expectations of a decent chronologically-logical order too.

Aside from that, there is also some twists in regards to Tsuna's fighting style and knowledge of certain things.

* * *

**A/N:** Was listening to 'Yasashisa ni Tsutsumareta Nara' when I wrote this. OMG, the lyrics are so light and beautiful ^^

This is set between the Kokuyo arc and the Varia arc, I think. I'm not sure. But it's definitely after the a Kokuyo arc. (Don't worry though, the Kokuyo arc won't be neglected.) Chapter contains conversations with animals so if you want to, you can just scroll past them. Their content is not important, their presence is.

And goodness, is there OOC here. (I wonder if I'll regret posting this and would rather to die in shame right now.)

* * *

**10.**

"_Midori tanabiku namimori no, dai naku shou naku nami ga ii~_"

It was a sunny day, white clouds passing through the otherwise clear and light blue heavens, the birds outside singing, basking in the sunlight, and all being generally happy with life.

Quite unfortunately, it was also the fifth day since a certain yellow bird under the name of Hibird started, inexplicably, leaving for short amounts of time, particularly during recesses, which was, of course, not at all disturbing but a concerning matter nonetheless.

Hibari frowned.

The crowding herbivores scattered in terror, those with better reflexes and self-preservation instincts taking shelter in classes despite the big recess and their right to be outside classrooms forgotten as one even went as far as jumping out of the window with a desperate scream.

No one could blame him really – the demonically dark look etched onto the prefect's face as well as the gloomy black aura writhing around him could make one think that the two story fall down was a luckier way out rather than facing Hibari at the moment.

The icy light in his eyes would definitely discourage anyone who was crazy enough to even think of approaching him.

Unconcerned by the terrified herbivores around him, Hibari's eyes narrowed at the sound of a certain bird singing from somewhere above, and not from his shoulder like usual. His gaze darkened further, almost causing a heart attack to an innocent teacher who had been leaving a class obliviously and regretted doing so.

Footsteps echoed through the hastily-emptied corridor, foreboding and intimidating ones as a black jacket flapped dramatically.

Hibari swept up the stairs until he reached the door leading to the roof. He stopped for a moment, face impassive with a trademark violent glint in his silver eyes and his lips a thin slash on his face. He listened intently, tonfas slowly unsheathing from under his sleeves and one could notice fangs slowly showing from the corners of his mouth.

"_Itsumo kawaranu sukoyaka kenage, aa... tomo ni utaou namimor- chirp!_"

The door slammed open, black hair flaring in the open wind of the rooftop and ready to pounce.

He stopped in his tracks since the roof was empty.

Kyouya blinked.

...Hibird must be fine, then. She sometimes flew off when she sang.

The prefect scanned the rooftop with sharp silver eyes before leveling his gaze on the ventilation with a very appealing sunlit spot. The warm wind ruffled his hair lightly and he mentally shrugged since it was time for a rest anyway. Kyouya sheathed his tonfas under his jacket and gracefully jumped onto the ventilation, settling down on his jacket with his hands under his head and one leg thrown over the other.

It was pleasantly quiet and Hibari wouldn't have minded some more of the silence that was only because no herbivore was present on the roof. Kyouya slowly shut his eyes, content in a way a predator could be as he drifted off to light dreaming. That was until he heard a faint ruffle.

One steel-colored eye opened slightly, sharpening with consciousness and while his head remained unmoving, the black iris of his eye slid sideways, to the source of the sound. A few seconds of complete silence passed and Kyouya almost dismissed it as a stray wind in the pipes when he heard a very faint but audible, to his sensitive ears, chirp that had been unmistakably cut off by another sort of sound.

Quite strangely, his instincts weren't telling him that he was supposed to be biting to death whatever herbivore might be trying to (foolishly) ambush him on the roof which was the reason as to why he was still remaining unmoving as he stared unblinking through the crack of his eyelids at the far corner of the ventilation. If one didn't know better, he'd appear to be unconscious.

And so, Hibari was only just able to restrain himself from twitching when he saw how very very slowly and very very carefully, in a very cautious and wary manner, from behind the ventilation side, two flattened ears appeared, followed by white eyebrow whiskers and then two stark glowing eyes that were slitted in intense staring. Soon, an unbelievably small furry head on a long thin neck could be seen as it peeked attentively over the side.

It was now quite apparent to Hibari that the herbivore he suspected of being on the roof was a little feline.

Slitted neon orange that gleamed a light of their own stared at the prefect as the creature stayed still as a statue, scrutinizing Kyouya intently. The creature was clearly trying to understand whether or not Kyouya was sleeping. The raven-haired made no move, feeling quite amused by the cat's expression that screamed being ready to bolt any second now.

The stare continued and the feline was uncertain if it was one-sided or not. The moment was ruined when another yellow feathered head poked out next to the cat.

Hibird blinked at the skylark innocently, cocking her head lightly. She seemed to regard him a tad bit more closely before turning to the kitten who continued surveying the prefect carefully, it's ears still lowered to a flat line.

The silence stretched on and Hibari watched as both heads retreated back out of sight, absently wondering what business Hibird had with a feline.

"Mmm! Meow!"

"Chirp, Tsu?"

"Meow...? Meow."

"Chirp~! Chiiirp!"

"Meow. Meow..."

Two pairs of eyes peeked over the side again, sunset orange and twinkling black inspecting Hibari closely for a few second before disappearing again.

"Chi-i-irp!"

"Mew."

"Chirp~!"

"Meow."

"Chi-chi! Chiiirp~!"

"...Meow."

"Chiiiirp, Tsuuu~! Chirp!"

"Mm. Meow."

"Chiiirp, chirp!"

"...Meow."

The skylark kept a carefully blank face one wouldn't be able to decipher while mentally he strained his ears to listen. To his slight surprise, Kyouya felt very amused with the current situation despite despising any sort of interference with his plans – namely getting a good rest.

There was a few beats of quiet before both of the two animals, very slowly and deliberately, lifted their heads over the side of the ventilation to stare at Hibari in an oddly similar manner. After at least a minute of scanning, the two slowly turned to each other, exchanging a look.

Hibird chirped cheerfully.

The kitten regarded her with slight apprehension before sighing inaudibly as it's lightly inclined it's head and lifted it's ears – now they seemed to stick out as if too big for it's head. The cat crouched down so Hibari could only see the tips of it's ears before soundlessly jumping onto the ventilation in a small flash. Just as soundlessly, it walked along the very edge of the structure, tail stuck upwards indignantly – an oddly fluffy one with soft spikes that Hibari didn't recollect ever seeing a cat have.

It slowed down then and stopped short in front of Kyouya. Hibari realized that he cut off the route off the roof for the animal, but made no move to do anything at all. The feline's eyes narrowed further as it stood still, observing the prefect for any movements with sharp orange eyes. The kitten slowly sat down, momentarily glancing sideways at Hibird, and then turned back to Kyouya. It craned it's neck forward then, and sniffed lightly, so Hibari could almost feel the small wet nose touch his face.

Hibari's eyes snapped open.

"Miiiiiiieeeeeeee!"

The small creature's gaze widened drastically as it literally flew up and back at least half a meter, shrieking in terror. Hibari saw the already fluffy tail puff out comically as the kitten scrambled away from the raven-haired, displaying a laughable clumsiness as it tripped over it's own limbs and fell face-flat off the ventilation with a screech.

Hibird watched the small cat with a curious gaze as if she didn't understand such a reaction. Kyouya slowly sat up, eyes never turning away from the kitten as the yellow bird had flew over to the prefect, settling in his black hair and chirping joyously.

Hibari stood up, walking over to the edge and jumped off gracefully.

...This must be the most awkward cat Hibari ever saw.

It had disentangled itself from it's own paws and sat up, gazing up at Hibari with wide slitted orange eyes that glowed in the shadow cast by the prefect himself. It's eyes darted from right to left and even more amused, Kyouya watched the animal realize it was cornered, with no means of escape.

And then it suddenly turned sharply to Hibari with one side and stood up on the very tips of it's paws, the brown fur on it's body standing up, ears folded backwards as it's eyes flashed an almost red sheen and it _hissed_.

Hibari blinked.

...His lips quirked upwards.

The prefect then drew to his full height, looming over the creature as he slightly unsheathed his tonfas and a carnivorous grin stretched on his face, baring his fangs as his whole expression darkened with only two suddenly glinting grey eyes a stark contrast to the almost shadowed face.

And then he _growled_.

Hibari admitted that while he never saw a creature as clumsy as this one, he has also never in his life seen how a small kitten like this could scamper over the whole rooftop in one second flat. All that could be seen was it's ridiculously fluffy tail that flashed through the open door, down the stairs and out of sight, all along accompanied an almost human scream.

Kyouya smirked.

Later, he wondered why it felt as if the kitten had felt vaguely familiar. He had dismissed the thought in favor of threatening the weak herbivore that had been loitering with another two in the school grounds who oddly enough started running away the second he saw Hibari.

Nothing new of course, but he'd never yet heard the herbivore scream "He's gonna eat me!" before. He supposed there was always a first time for everything.

Although he was also quite interested in how a cat could enter a school roof without being previously noticed by anyone whatsoever.

Heads were going to roll and herbivores were going to be bitten to death.

**11.**

"Right."

"Squeak!"

"How _could_ he?"

"Chirrup, chirp."

"No no, Risa-chan did the right thing – he clearly deserved it."

"Squeak..."

"You'll get over it, eventually. I know it may sound harsh, but you really shouldn't pay so much attention to jerks. You can come by my house some time, when the family is out. We're making a great dinner today – I've been to a shop for some fresh vegetables. Kaa-san misses you a lot! Hato-san, you should come by too, someday."

"..."

"Caw!"

"Yeah, Karasu-chan, you know Reborn already. Can you imagine the rest of them? I envy how kaa-san can handle them like children!"

"Caaaw."

"Oh yeah. They _are_ children."

"Caaaw..."

"W-what?! I- I am _not_! I'm fourteen years old and am very mature, thank you very much, and besides, my behavior does _not_ affect my age. You'd go crazy with that lot too, believe me."

"Chirrup..."

"Hey, not you too, Suzume-kun! C'mon, you're little anyways so you have no say in this."

"Squeak... Squeak."

"What? Mochida's been vandalizing?"

"Squeak. Squeak?"

"Frankly, I think he's an idiot, Risa-chan. He'd be lucky to survive since Hibari-san will get to know about what he does very soon. You know Hibari-san. He knows things. And if it won't be Hibari, karma will still get him in the end."

"..."

"I didn't mean to, Hato-san! Who told Mochida's got bad luck because of me? Getting bad karma isn't necessarily because of pissing off a cat, you know. I reckon he's done other things to get on the bad side of fate. Though going out of your way to challenge a cat is the top of foolishness, even for one not knowing."

"...Caw."

"..."

"Hato-san, you know that politeness won't always get you the results, right? Besides, it's not as if we cuss or anything. Hibari-san bites to death even those people who aren't speaking! And kaa-san'd kill me and then tell Okami-san if I started dirty language. I mean-"

"..."

"Well. Kaa-san can get _anything_ she wants just by talking politely... But she's, well, you know. _K__aa-san_."

"..."

"O-of course we didn't, Hato-san!"

"Chiiirp."

"Ano... I'm not sure, Suzume-kun. I reckon Hato-san wouldn't like that. At all."

"..."

"Squeak~"

"Taka-kun's coming over? That's awesome, Risa-chan! I bet he'd like to watch the summer lights, ne?"

"Squeak!"

"Yeah, I bet the summer lights are gonna be amazing this year. Kaa-san says we should ask if Okami-san would like to watch with us, like last year, and if we can come over to his place. I really can't wait to see them!"

"Caaaw..."

"I am _not_ childishly excited, Karasu-chan. I just... love watching them. As if you don't!"

"..."

"...Honestly, compared to Okami-san, even you're a child, Hato-san. No need to look at me like that either, Hato-san. Okami-san remembers when people were still smart enough come ask him for protection and he says that he's fairly young compared to some others."

"...Chirrup."

"Yeah. Like that's likely to happen."

"..."

"Oh, don't worry Hato-san, I'm waiting for Gokudera-kun and Yamamoto anyway - Gokudera-kun asked me to wait since his apartment is close and Yamamoto said he's brining over some sushi. Nii-san – I mean, Kyoko-chan's nii-san – should be coming over too."

"..."

"Of course, Hato-san. And then Lambo would eat too much grape candy since mom's pampering him rotten, get hyper, and destroy the house with grenades. I wonder if Adult Lambo will come by. I hope not since Bianchi hates him."

"...Chirp."

"To be honest, I have no valid arguments to counter that."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"...What?"

"Squeak... Squeak?"

"Caw!"

"Why I talk to you guys? Are you serious?"

"..."

"I do _not_ rant, Hato-san."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"Well, maybe a little- okay. A lot."

"Caw?"

"'Cause humans are stupid and you people understand me better than any phycologist in the world? I'd think that was obvious."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"Wow, this got awkward. Let's change subject."

"C-craw!"

"S-squeak- squeak?"

"Oh yeah, Karasu-chan, what are you looking at?"

"...Caaaw..."

"What? Carnivore? What're you talking about, Karasu-chan? There aren't any carnivores aroun- hiiiieee!"

Eyes narrowing slightly, Hibari stared.

Trailing off in the middle of the sentence, frankly horrified, Tsuna stared back in frozen terror, the shriek dying in his throat. The bag with groceries that he was holding dropped onto the ground, the contents spilling onto the ground.

The crow cawed sheepishly while both the sparrow and the fat squirrel that stopped nibbling a nut edged away, in the direction of the thick bush. The elderly beige pigeon remained on the bench, eyeing the raven-haired with a heavy gaze that clearly stated that if Hibari will so much as touch an old bird like him, he will forever ruin whatever karmic level he has for this and the next nine reincarnations.

Slightly raising his eyebrow at such an expressive look, the prefect leveled his silver gaze on the little animals. The squirrel gave a terrified squeak and darted out of sight while the sparrow shot into the tree above, taking cover in the branches. The crow pretended to be a rock while trying to maintain at least some sort of dignity in the face of other crows flying above and cawing in a suspiciously amused tone.

Face impassive, Kyouya's steel-colored eyes travelled back to the scrawny boy who had been slowly creeping away and had stopped short at Hibari's gaze.

He gulped audibly.

Screaming disbelief was carefully concealed under the completely blank façade but it didn't change the fact that what Kyouya had been watching for several minutes already was... surprising. He'd been out in the town, patrolling the north district with the highest pickpocket crime statistic in the region – naturally as it was the shopping district – when he'd noticed a familiar odd-haired herbivore leaning onto a wall and talking quietly but somewhat relaxed to someone and they weren't his other herbivore bodyguards either.

It was rather odd that the herbivore was less tense while talking to street animals than he did with human herbivores.

What caught Hibari's attention was the fearless way the sparrow and a squirrel as well as a crow and a pigeon had been sitting right next to the herbivore. When Kyouya approached, he'd stopped just out of sight, listening.

Deep down, he didn't really know what to think of this whole... conversation since when one watched a boy lean onto a wall and casually talk with other animals that sat on the bench and actually seemed to respond, it was not something regarded as apparently... normal.

Though Hibari knew better since he could understand Hibird after all. The herbivore was merely able to communicate with other herbivores. Admittedly, Hibari only talked to Hibird when she spoke human, but that wasn't the point.

After some thought, Hibari decided to disregard whatever he heard from the herbivore as irrelevant even though now knew his next victim's name – Mochida Kensuke was now obviously breathing his last.

Regardlessly, it also didn't change the fact that this was what he hated most of all. Hibari's gaze darkened, he soundlessly walked up behind the chattering herbivore and he whipped out his tonfas as he declared icily.

"For crowding with herbivores, I will bite you to death."

"Hiiiiiiiieeeeeeee!"

Ignoring the herbivore's scream, Hibari lunged for the boy who, quite rapidly for such a clumsy creature, dodged the tonfas and ran down the street, screeching and flailing his arms, much to the passerbye's dismay and pointed exclamations when he almost crashed into a couple of them. The prefect chased after Tsuna and absently heard some noises from behind himself.

He didn't look since he didn't really care, but sitting on the bench, the pigeon watched them with a ruffled wing over his eyes to shadow his eyes from the sun and to see them more clearly as the sparrow had dropped down from the tree clumsily, a few leaves stuck in it's feathers, and the squirrel peeked from out of the bush branches. It waved expressively with it's nut as it chittered loudly and the crow had put her wings over her beak and was cawing loudly, almost shouting, in a manner that some might call 'cheering on' if it wasn't a crow they were talking about.

About ten minutes later, after the brown-haired herbivore had run through a bush hedge, resulting in twigs and leaves sticking to his hair and several scratches, passed over a high fence at a graceless but surprisingly efficient speed, and the prefect had by-stepped the herbivore twice, Hibari almost cornered the brunet who appeared to be quite a fast herbivore. And then unexpectedly, Tsuna took a sharp turn sidewise and ran just barely avoiding a tonfa to his stomach as he dove under Hibari's arms and back from where he came and behind the corner. The prefect momentarily lost sight of him, not really worried since he could catch the herbivore anyway, but then, after turning around the corner, he found that the street was empty.

Slightly frustrated at not being able to catch the herbivore, Hibari walked back to where he first saw him and didn't see anyone on the bench.

He felt... disappointed.

He dismissed it as the unsated urge to bite the herbivore to death.

He turned to leave but when turned his head at the sound of chirps and whistles, he saw the same group of animals as before sitting on a high wall and his eyes narrowed when he saw a certain brown feline that was sitting among the group with it's tail twitching indignantly. The sparrow was picking twigs out of it's fur while the squirrel seemed to pester around him, gesturing with a nut that it clutched in a paw. The crow patted it with a wing, almost as if cheering it up.

And then, to top off the very odd behavior, the cat seemed to notice Hibari and stared unblinking at him.

"...Meow, meow."

Hibari blinked when he saw the old pigeon cuff the kitten's head with a wing.

...Herbivores have certainly become strange these days.

He left the scene then, leaving behind the bickering herd of herbivores that quite obviously ignored any and all nature laws, chain food rules or any sort of logical relationship overall. He didn't see the pigeon peck the kitten's ear as it dragged the feline along the wall, being followed by the placating crow, the worried sparrow and the nonchalant squirrel who chewed on her nut.

"Caaaw!"

_Oh come on Hato-san, I'd do the same thing if I got away from a carnivore like that!_

"Meow, me-"

_I'm sorry Hato-san, I'll go clean my mouth with soap now-_

"..."

_Young man, Nana-dono will be hearing of this._

"Meoooow! Miiiiiieeee!"

_Please noooo! Hiiiiiieeee!_

**12.**

Hibari was exiting his cabinet of the Disciplinary Committee, feeling particularly annoyed for some reason, and itching to bite someone to death. Hibird was sitting on his shoulder, sleeping peacefully, oblivious to the heavy, bloodlusting demeanor around the prefect.

And then, to spike his irritation even further, just as Hibari closed the door, he heard a sound of quietly running feet and he turned just in time to see something brown flash right in front of him, almost brushing against his shoulder and yelping in surprise.

"I'm so sorr- HIIIIEEE, HIBARI-SAN?!"

"Kamikorosu, herbivore."

Kyouya whipped out his tonfas since running in corridors was strictly prohibited – even more so since someone dared to almost crash into the prefect, _even_ if evidently by accident. Unfortunately, he didn't get to take another step when another two herbivores – the loud and annoying ones that crowded around the weak herbivore that just signed his death warrant – flew by him causing a wind.

"Juudaime, wait!"

"Ahaha, Tsuna, are we playing tag? It's fun!"

"Stupid baseball freak, stop wasting your breath and catch up with Juudaime!"

"Maa maa, I didn't know Tsuna could run so fast!"

Hibari growled and chased after the two, determined to bite them to death for such blatant misbehavior. The silver-haired tsked over his shoulder while the raven-haired only scratched his head and laughed in an irritatingly ignorant manner.

"Tch, I don't have time for this... I have to find Juudaime! I can't spend time on you, maniac bastard!"

"Haha, Hibari-senpai, we have to catch Tsuna! Or do you want to play tag with us too?"

"Baseball freak, are you _insane_\- oi, where did Juudaime go?"

Hibari's eyes narrowed as he noticed a mop of spiky brown hair disappear around the corner. The two herbivores he was chasing noticed it too, so they barreled straight into the turn, just barely avoiding hitting the corner. Kyouya had turned after them, followed through the corridor and turned, springing down the stairs – was that the herbivore flinging down the railings? – and when he arrived on the first floor fully expecting to see the odd-haired herbivore, he was instead greeted by a sight of an empty corridor, apart from the two herbivores already turning around the corner at the far end. The weakling must already fled further than expected – it shouldn't be surprising since it was a herbivore's role to run fast.

"...Tch."

The prefect was about to sprint on since no prey ever escaped him, determined to bite all of the undisciplined herbivores to death in one go, when out of the corner of his eye he suddenly noticed something suspiciously brown and fluffy sitting in the very corner of a windowsill, in a loaf pose, settled in the shadow that almost made it invisible if one did not look at it directly. It faced the window in a most casual way with it's head buried between it's paws, appearing as inconspicuous as possible.

Kyouya wondered why he didn't see it right away.

When the shouts of the two herbivores running around in distance receded and silence descended in the corridor, the creature slowly unfurled from it's position, taking off it's paws from it's head. It blinked open two stark orange eyes as it craned it's neck to look into the far end of the corridor, evidently relieved upon not seeing anyone as it stood up, stretching in a long, scrawny arch.

In mid-movement, it glanced sideways and froze.

Hibari deadpanned.

The cat stared back.

Very slowly, the kitten turned it's ears backwards, eyes darting around in search of an escape, as panic flitted through it's features as clear as day. Hibari stood still and then made a small sharp movement in the animal's direction.

Half the corridor had been crossed in one leap as the prefect stared at the feline's tail that throughout the whole flight resembled, in proportions, that of a duster.

...No, it was even fluffier than a duster.

Two burning embers stood stark among the light brown fur as the animal finally came to it's senses from being previously terrified to death and instinctively diving for cover – the slow but sure way the tail settled down indicated that it calmed slightly and attempted to regain at least some sort of composure.

Kyouya didn't bother to conceal his amusement and obviously the animal noticed, if the way it's ears turned all the way backwards and its tail's very tip twitched was anything to go by. Before anything else could happen, both of the two heard a sound of running feet from afar as the two herbivores from before bounded through the corridor once again.

Without moving his head, out of the corner of the eye, Hibari saw the kitten stiffen and then his grey eyes widened a fraction.

The cat had jumped into a shadowed corner and _disappeared_.

Just like that.

Now ignoring the two herbivores that ran past him, casting odd looks at him – he'd bite them to death anyway so they shouldn't be relieved or anything – the prefect turned and approached the corner, staring at it with slightly widened eyes.

All he saw was a corner. Nothing else. There was no sign of the cat and as much of a poker face Kyouya wore, it was still out of ordinary. There was nothing special in the corner – just a potted plant, dust, two transparent orange glints on the floor from the sunlight-

Wait.

Sharply, Hibari reached with a hand and grabbed.

"..."

...And here he thought the baby's lizard was interesting.

Kyouya peered at the small furry creature he held by the scruff of the neck with genuine interest – it stared back with large, desperate, and utterly frightened orange eyes that pleaded mercy.

"Mewl! Meow, mew!"

"Herbivore."

It gazed up at him with suddenly much-too-intelligent eyes and then it – was he hallucinating? – shook it's head. "Myo, meow." It raised a paw and pointed it at itself in a manner that normal cats do not.

Hibari got the strange feeling that the cat had meant 'No, I'm not'.

Visibly nonplussed, the prefect arched a perfect eyebrow.

"And what are you if you're not a herbivore?"

Of all things it could look at the moment, the feline seemed _thoughtful_. Then it pointed it's acute gaze at the prefect and stared, silently.

...Hibari supposed it was right. Cats were carnivores after all.

Though now that the cat looked to have realized that such behavior was most inappropriate for an animal, it panicked and started flailing it's tiny paws, mewling and trying to wriggle out of Hibari's grip which it failed to.

It then stilled suddenly and looked past the raven-haired's shoulder, and Kyouya glanced over his shoulder to see Kusakabe approaching him, eyes glued to the paper but any second now going to look up.

Without any second thought whatsoever and only a slight cringe at the tiny claws that accidentally scraped (of course the cringe was gone in seconds), Hibari shoved the kitten under his jacket, his eyes adopting the same icy glare as usual as the heavy air of doom once again descended around him and he folded his arms.

He could feel the fluffy tail shaking with fear which clearly indicated to the state the cat was at being subjected to such close-range killing intent that Hibari was accustomed to emitting since he was born.

"Ah, Kyou-san!"

"..."

Hibari felt the furry ball paw his chest lightly, without claws, as there was a very small mewl. Was the animal suffocating? Regardless, Hibari only tightened the fabric around the feline to assume a perfectly terrifying casual Hibari stance.

"I've come to report-"

Kusakabe looked up from the files and took exactly one look at the prefect's eyes before promptly stopping in his tracks and nodding firmly, mostly to himself, "...Sou da ne. I've remembered now – I must finish the paperwork. I will look into the Disciplinary Committee's reports myself too." He headed right back in the direction he came.

When he disappeared, a small head lightly poked from under Hibari's jacket, following the man with a gaze before momentarily glancing at Kyouya's eyes himself and, shrieking, diving back under the uniform.

Scowling, the prefect unfolded his arms and tried to peel the herbivore off his shirt – he could feel the tips of the claws digging in him – but found that he couldn't. The feline clung so desperately that Hibari couldn't pull it off.

And then it looked up at him.

...It purred.

Before he could process what he was doing, Kyouya raised a hand and started petting it.

...It purred louder.

When Kyouya lifted a finger to scratch it behind the ear, it _nuzzled_ him.

"**_What_ **are you doing, herbivore."

Since obviously, it's instincts of self-preservation were thoroughly lacking.

Instead, it sighed minutely under Hibari's hand somewhat resignedly, and then butted it's head into Hibari's shoulder.

"..."

When Kyouya disappeared to his office with a small furry warm lump in his hand, no one said a word.

...

"Meow?"

"Herbivore."

"Mewl."

"..."

"..."

"...The window is always open, herbivore."

**13.**

It was night.

A rather quiet one.

Hibari walked through the streets, having just beaten up a group of drunk teens in an alleyway and feeling mildly satisfied.

He was also in deep thought.

He was thinking about a herbivore.

Or, in fact, a herbivore and an animal.

...He wasn't supposed to think about herbivores. And not particular ones, of course.

But nevertheless, he found himself thinking of the strange little feline creature of unknown breed with unusual orange eyes that was too trusting for it's own good and had an attitude that defied everything Hibari had previously thought of animals.

He had finally remembered exactly when he'd seen it before the rooftop.

One time was around a year or so ago, when he'd been patrolling the school and had seen the weak herbivore that the baby was training now, running away from some other herbivores. Hibari didn't remember what happened to the herbivore since he didn't follow him into the alleyway right away to bite to death all of the herbivores but Kyouya did hear the annoying shouts of 'where did Dame-Tsuna go?!'.

It was at that time when he'd walked into the alley, intent on biting to death the herbivores for committing violence that wasn't permitted by Hibari, that he noticed an exceptionally tiny kitten walking along the wall in the opposite direction to Hibari, though it was gone before he could really pay attention so he'd dismissed it as a stray cat, even if it was odd to think of it since the kitten's fur looked very cared for.

It was most certainly the same animal as the one with the very same orange eyes.

...And quite obviously, it hadn't really grew since then.

Hibari had never thought that cats could become invisible – or maybe it was just this particular cat? no, that sounded ridiculous – and the way it interacted with Hibird, Kyouya, and the whole world, was rather... peculiar.

Especially since it was an _animal_.

At the same time, Kyouya found himself thinking about the scrawny, pathetic-looking, utterly dumb, brown-haired herbivore that attended Namimori Middle and didn't interest Hibari before the baby arrived as his tutor and all Kyouya could think about him now was one thing – the herbivore was _odd_.

Sawada Tsunayoshi was the herbivore's name and he was a klutz.

And earlier today, at school, he had been scared by the baby and had jumped out of a window.

Hibari had been outside and he witnessed first-hand the way the herbivore, while screaming his head off in terror – the baby's outfit had been rather... disturbing, even Kyouya had to admit – plummeted to the ground from the third floor, with his back down, head-first and certain to break his neck upon impact.

Hibari had stopped to watch, impassive though annoyed since he was going to have to clean up the scene afterwards, before briefly, surprise flashed in his silver eyes at what he saw.

In the split seconds of the fall, the herbivore had looked over his shoulder at the approaching ground and then, with a grace that the prefect had only seen when the herbivore's eyes turned orange, twirled around in air, his back arching in a cat-like way, and he landed on four limbs, as time slowed for that one exact moment when his hands and feet collided with ground.

And then time came back twice faster in speed and the herbivore was skidding to a stop, and, displaying his usual clumsiness, tripped with a shriek and rolled over his back several times to much from the powerful momentum until he hit the fence.

Blankly, Hibari watched as after a quiet groan and a scratch, the herbivore had stood up and headed back into the building as if this had been a normal occurrence.

He should've bitten the herbivore to death for not producing another set of clean uniform to change into since he dirtied his. Dirty clothes were despicable and prohibited in Hibari's territory.

And as if today was the only time.

Once, Hibari stalked at him from behind and the herbivore hissed while he scampered with surprising speed and then tripped when turning and knocked himself out.

Another time, in a rare absence of the other two bodyguard herbivores, some thugs surrounded the herbivore and when they'd cornered him, he had climbed a wall without batting an eye – to fall onto the other side when he accidentally tipped over.

There were countless other incidents Hibari didn't care to remember – he shouldn't even be in the very least concerned with yet he was for some irritating reason – and the prefect almost growled.

The herbivore was strange – both clumsy like no one in the world and sometimes graceful in a way that didn't look human, or, in Hibari's terms, herbivorous. The herbivore'd go around, crowd like a herbivore, screech like one, behave like one, run around like one, and then suddenly throw something that even herbivores deemed strange.

The boy talked to animals and they talked back.

The boy was an awkward herbivore and a sharp carnivore at the same time time.

The boy made Kyouya stop and think before biting him to death.

The boy-

Hibari's eyes narrowed.

...Why did every time he think that, he thought of the other one – the kitten that was, in quite a lot of ways, so similar to the herbivore?

A thought struck Hibari and he stopped abruptly on the sidewalk, the passing cars lighting his stormy grey eyes.

...It must be the herbivore's pet. There was no other way to explain it and since dogs were sometimes spitting images of their masters in all but appearance (and sometimes in that too) it might be possible with cats?

Yes.

That was a plausible explanation.

He can finally throw out the herbivorous thoughts and focus on being a proper carnivore since there was another yakuza group that had to be reminded of their position in Hibari's territory.

**14.**

"Herbivore."

"...No."

"Herbivore."

"No."

_Grit._

"...Herbivore..."

"I'm not here. I do not exist. Leave me alone."

"Herbivore, it is after school time. Leave immediately or I will bite you to death."

"..."

"Leave now, herbivore."

"..."

"_Herbivore_."

"Go away."

_Growl_.

"Herbivore..."

"_**Go away.**_"

Hibari's growingly darkening eyes blinked in slight confusion.

The brown-haired herbivore continued sitting with his back to him, arms wrapped around his legs and face buried in his knees.

Sitting in a cardboard box, no less, which was something that was slightly less baffling than the herbivore's new attitude.

Silence descended in the science classroom and Hibari was absently reminded of what happened.

_Earlier..._

"Nyahahaha, Aho-Dera, the takoyaki is all mine!"

"Aho-shi, give back Juudaime's food! Or I'll damn well blow you up!"

"Gokudera-kun, it's alright. I'll be fine without it! Please calm dow- hiiiieeee! Please put away the dynamite, Gokudera-kun!"

"Haha, Gokudera, you're supposed to make fireworks outside, not inside! Didn't you know?"

"You're asking for it now, baseball freak..."

"He's not asking for anything, Gokudera-kun! And Yamamoto, could you please put away your bat? You could accidentally- no! Be careful-"

_**Crunch!**_

"Ah! Otou-san's and kaa-san's honeymoon picture!"

"Ahaha, my bad! Gomen, Tsuna!"

"...It's fine, Yamamoto..."

"EXTREME! HIBARI, JOIN THE BOXING CLUB!"

"Tch, herbivore, I'll bite you to death for your noisiness."

"LET'S EXTREMELY FIGHT LIKE EXTREMELY REAL MEN THEN!"

"Herbivore..."

"Wait- no! Not kaa-san's favorite vase!"

**_Crash!_**

"Phew... I saved kaa-san's vase... Thank winds, she didn't see that."

"Juudaime, are you alright? Turf head, this is your fault!"

"Hayato... Please stop being so anxious. Here, I brewed some nice calming tea for you."

"A-Aneki! Ughhhh..."

"HIBARI! EXTREME MEN LIKE YOU AND ME MUST HAVE EXTREME FIGHTS! EXTREEEME!"

"Kamikorosu, herbivore."

"No, please don't, Hibari-san, Nii-san! Hiiiieee!"

"Haha~, Lambo, be careful with you chopsticks, that's Tsuna's favorite bowl, I think! Don't eat so close to the edge-"

_**Crack!**_

"...Aho-shi! How dare you, you brat! That's Juudaime's favorite! We apologize for our incompetency, Juudaime! We-"

"Gupya! My takoyaki is on the floor! Stupid bowl couldn't take Lambo-sama's strength!"

"Aho-shi... I swear I'll blow up now!"

"According to the Ranking Book, that bowl was ranked first in Tsuna-nii's favorite dish ware. Lambo, that's so mean of you!"

"EXTREME!"

"Maa maa~"

"Gyahahahaha, all other takoyaki is Lambo-san's and no takoyaki for Dame-Tsuna! Gyahaha- ow... Dame-Tsuna, put away the shards so Lambo-sama may put his feet down."

"Herbivores..."

"You brat-!"

"Ahaha, Gokudera, Hibari, Sasagawa-senpai, Lambo... Let's just all-!"

"I-Pin? I-Pin, what's the matter? What's that you have on your forehead?"

"Dame-Tsuna, you are an example of a bad boss who can't control his own Famiglia properly. You should have better compliance from your subordinates and-"

"**_Shut up. All of you._**"

Dead silence.

All eyes snapped to look at a scrawny brunet who was standing in front of the kitchen table amidst the utter chaos of the suddenly frozen room, with clenched fists and a shadowed gaze, lips a thin line that have just uttered a very uncharacteristic thing for him. All the occupants watched as Tsuna lifted his head slightly and stared darkly at the mess on the floor – formerly, a beautiful orange bowl, now shattered into little pieces. His eyes glinted a strange sheen from the shadows behind his bangs. It was still discernible that it had been an astoundingly elegant piece of art – upon more detailed scrutinization one could see one of the shards had 'Tsunayoshi' written on it in a perfect black kanji, with cat paw-prints drawn around the name.

Everyone watched, including Hibari, as Tsuna ever-so-slowly leaned down and reached for it, with a quiet screeching sound against the floor when he took it into a hand and his knuckles became white around the shard's edges. The boy's shoulders tensed up before he bit his lip and just as slowly stood up, turning around, and walking stiffly out of the kitchen and into the corridor up the stairs, all the way not allowing a single person to see his eyes as he disappeared from view.

Everyone watched him, oddly frightened at Tsuna's silent reaction that scared them more than any other reaction that they could've got. The family listened to the quiet footsteps that echoed in the unusually silent house and even Lambo felt guilty since he was the one who accidentally pushed the bowl with takoyaki off the table when he handled the chopsticks too clumsily.

A few moments later, no one had made a move to do anything, apart from an audible gulp from Gokudera and a semi-questioning grunt from Ryohei, and then they heard footsteps again, and saw Tsuna pass by the kitchen through the corridor.

It did not escape their notices that he was carrying a big brown cardboard box.

Proceeding silently into the hall and ignoring the heads that poked through the doorway from the kitchen, he sat down and put down the box beside him, slowly putting on his shoes. When he finished, he stood up and took the box into his arms again, opening the door. He stopped in the entrance as he slightly turned his head just enough for the others to see his lips twitch slightly.

He opened his mouth to say something but froze and then closed it again without saying anything.

He turned around and left then.

Moments later, Reborn had hopped off the chair, having previously stayed on it survey the boy from a distance unlike all of the Famiglia who had tumbled into the hall to awkwardly watch their boss put his shoes on. The hitman walked into the hall and his lips curled downwards in just slightly evident disdain.

"However much of a... softie Dame-Tsuna is in handling his Famiglia, such audacious treatment from his own family and Guardians is disrespectful and completely disgraceful for those who want to call themselves the Tenth Vongola Famiglia." He tipped his fedora forward, eyes shadowed. "Go find him. _Immediately_."

When everyone scattered out of the door, sprinting and yelling at each other, Reborn turned to the one who didn't even make a move to go as he leaned onto the doorframe and yawned disinterestedly.

Hibari stared impassively at Reborn.

A few seconds passed and neither blinked.

"...How would you feel if someone broke something of your property?"

The prefect's silver gaze narrowed threateningly and his teeth bared slightly at the baby. He smirked slightly though.

"And how would you feel if someone told you to handle a hoard of misbehaving herbivores?"

They'd stared at each other for another few seconds and before Hibari could take a step to strike at the baby hitman who was obviously challenging him, Reborn was out of the door and out of sight with the help of his shapeshifting chameleon.

Disappointed, Kyouya sheathed his tonfas and exited the Sawada household since it presented no further interest to him – the herbivore that the baby promised a spar with had left and it was the only thing that made the prefect come to the despicable crowding in the first place. He was certainly not going to go around looking for a (rightfully) angered herbivore when the herbivore clearly did not want company (translated from Hibari's language: a bloodbath fight).

Hibari had returned back to the school to finish his duties and paperwork from the Disciplinary Committee and had been passing by the second floor when he noticed one of the tightly closed doors slightly ajar – one to the science classroom.

Soundlessly, he walked over to it and then slid it open with enough force to cause it to clang against the wall.

He stared.

...It was, admittedly, not what he expected to see.

The room was empty, the windows slightly open and the chalkboard wiped clean, as always, and there wasn't a sound apart from the fluttering of the window drapes. Evidently, the herbivore wasn't even trying to hide – maybe because he thought no one would find him – so in the very corner of the classroom, behind the desks and stacks of books, Kyouya saw a mop of brown hair, sitting in a curled up position.

The herbivore was sitting in a cardboard box.

Which lead them to the situation at hand and to the brief exchange of words, which frustrated Kyouya because he was not known for having any problematic situations for more than one minute – ending in blood and broken bones, it was usually solved in under five at most. He'd figured he could have the baby owe him a favor by sending the weak herbivore off Kyouya's own territory.

It appeared, however, increasingly infuriating since the task was not progressing and what was the cause of such remained unknown to the prefect.

Hibari stared as the herbivore with no backbone whatsoever and an affinity to shrieking whenever Kyouya entered the weakling's vicinity didn't deign necessary to face a growingly annoyed prefect, instead sitting, hunched over, in the average-sized brown cardboard box, hands wrapped around his knees tightly as his face was buried in his legs, replies muffled by the material. The brown hair of his were the only thing sticking out from the ball the boy reverted to.

Kyouya's eyes glinted ominously.

"Get out of the box herbivore, or else."

A beat of silence passed.

Tsuna rocked slightly to his left, flopping down onto his side with an audible thud, disappearing into the box completely.

"Go away."

The mutter came from out of the box, and then a hand poked out and pulled the lid on, closing the inner content off from the world.

What little patience was present before, snapped at such screaming impudence (or maybe the herbivore had lost the last pieces of survival instinct after all) and the prefect growled menacingly and stalked over to the box, wringing it open irritably.

"_Hisssss__sssssss_!"

What he did not expect was a violent hiss to come from the box and certainly did not see a hand emerging lightning-fast, roughly skimming his arm so that he almost got scratched. From the darkness of the container, two eyes glinted a dangerous orange sheen as a sound of a low growling emanated from the herbivore.

Hibari stared.

The brunet stared back, irises almost slitted.

When Hibari reached again, intending to take the herbivore by the scruff of the neck and throw him out of the door (optionally the window), his hand was painfully hit by the lightning-fast hand again so the raven-haired instinctively withdrew.

A growingly loud seethe came from the box, accompanied by a gleam of orange that dared him to do anything.

"...Herbivore."

"..."

"This is my territory. Get _out_."

"..."

This time Hibari's own eyes glinted a wild silver that would've sent shivers down the spine of anyone as he growled in the back of his throat. Anyone in their right mind would've fled already but instead, the brunet didn't even twitch, instead glaring fire-lit holes from the box.

Just as Hibari considered taking the box and throwing it out of the window with it's contents, an uncharacteristically low voice came from out of it.

"_My_ box. _My_ territory."

Kyouya gazed down from his height and vague puzzlement was seen in his eyes, a small sliver amongst the burning fury.

He folded his hands.

"_My_ school, herbivore. _My_ territory."

This reply was met with silence and exceedingly flaring golden of the herbivore's eyes.

The silence stretched.

"..."

"_What _did you say, herbivore?"

"I thought you hated crowding."

"Herbivore-"

"And if you do, _you're _the first one to come around and crowd. Since you think two's a crowd. Actually, you're always the first one to crowd – you _do_ know that fighting is like crowding, right? It's not like people go around, shouting 'Hibari-san, please come crowd with us!'. If you _really_ hate crowding more than crime – which you clearly imply – you'd go roam the world like a cloud or something proverbial like that – there's _plenty _of space on the planet and even in Japan where there isn't a _single soul_ around. I don't particularly like crowding myself really and the lot with Reborn just got on my nerves so, frankly, I can understand you since yes, I've had _enough_ of them – and you – for today. I did not sign up for babysitting. But then again, if you want a break from other humans and want to have some peace and quiet with yourself, just _go get yourself a goddamn box and __leave me alone!_"

Hibari stared.

The ranting herbivore huffed silently and pulled on the lid with a slam, notifying the prefect that the conversation was over and that he can do whatever he wants and even throw the box into fire since Tsuna didn't really care.

There was a deafening silence and then soundlessly, Hibari left.

...

Half an hour later, when Tsuna carefully climbed out to open the window since it got hot in the room and he was spending the night here anyway – after all, this wasn't the first time he's done this; his father made him resort to this seclusion twice a week when he visited but that was besides the matter – and he soundlessly walked back when out of the corner of his eye, he noticed something black and gloomy sitting in the opposite corner of the room.

The thoughtful gaze lingering on the black 'IKEA' mark for a moment with a flitting surprise at his advice being actually taken, Tsuna wondered if Hibari always owned such a wonderful cardboard box.

* * *

**A/N:** Haha.

Wow.

So fun.

Much OOC.

I am not sorry, not sorry at all.

I'm having so much fun with this.

Gosh, my randomness continues to exceed my own expectations. I officially suck at writing. (cough doesn't mean I don't have fun doing it cough)

Yes, that is Hibari sitting in an IKEA cardboard box. No, that doesn't mean he's a herbivore. Yes, he owned it before Tsuna, though never knew the exact use for cardboard boxes. (Because people think that cardboard boxes are for things and objects when actually they're for people who want some peace and quiet.)

I'm so sorry for such a late update - a lot of stuff happened, plus I had to play in the Small Hall of the conservatory and - surprise surprise - I only was warned three weeks beforehand (if you don't get it, it's a really short time since some take several months to get ready). Which was coincidentally when I had to start on two completely new pieces and have them ready through two auditions. Yeah. I love my life. (No, that actually wasn't sarcasm. I literally cannot be bored.) Hopefully, this big chapter (at least for me) was at least slightly satisfying. I mean, 9K and all. That's quite a big chapter for me.

And just a small note that is not necessary information for you:

Karasu-chan - 'karasu' means crow (in Japanese). An adolescent bird that was present in the second chapter too when talking with Reborn.

Suzume-kun - 'suzume' means sparrow. He's that little bird who's clumsy at flying and is barely out of his nest.

Hato-san - 'hato' means pigeon. He doesn't really speak since everyone can understand him without him speaking, and you can view him as a silent old man with a cane and old eyes that have seen much things in his long life. (At least that's how I see him. He's completely a pigeon though, so don't think anything.)

Taka-kun - 'taka' means hawk. Just a passing mention of him here.

The suffixes indicate to their genders.

And Risa-chan - 'risa' means squirrel and is a small side character created for me by SilverFlame of the Forest when we discussed this fic. Thanks, girl! :D I really needed another little character like that (still do, maybe, but I'll think them up eventually. I'm trying to think of some child animals, and if possible, mature males since I don't think I have a problem with adult females. Maybe a couple of adolescent ones too...)

Regarding the other shots, I believe that cats can become invisible. Tsuna just still little so he needs more practice.

And yes, while. Hibari doesn't seem to be the type to think, this is: 1) Hibari's inner thoughts that no one really ever know he has; 2) Something, that is not really canon I guess; 3) And oh come on, this is fanfiction. I want to do what I want for a change.

I'd also like to ask you if you now of more street/city/town animals, like crows, pigeons, squirrels, cats, dogs, ducks? Namimori is not a big town and it's surrounded by forests and it suppose there might be animals like raccoons, right? So a penny for your thoughts? I just might need characters for future reference, though I'm not sure exactly what will happen...

**Question, **would you like another chapter with Hibari? Not necessarily the next one - I was thinking that the next should be either Takeshi or Reborn (or even Gokudera since I'm planning a chapter with him too, of course) - but in a couple chapters perhaps? Because I'm already writing another chapter with Hibari ^^

A here's a small extra for my lovely readers!

* * *

**10.5 (extra****)**

"Chiiiiirp, chirp, chiiirp~~! Chirp!"

_And then Kyo-chan thought I was cold and hugged me, it was so warm and his hair was so fluffy, though I wonder what Reborn-dono was doing with that flashy box~~! He seemed very happy even though he wasn't hugging with us!_

"M-meow? Me- meooow?"

_F-flashy box? That must've been a photoca- sweet nights, did Reborn actually try to __blackmail__ Hibari with that?_

"Chirp?"

_Blackmail?_

"Meo- meow. Meow. Myoooow..."

_It's a- nevermind. Nothing good. And I wondered why Hibari-senpai was willing to help out with our celebration..._

"Chirp!"

_Maybe it was because he's so sweet!_

"M-meow."

_R-right._

"Chiiirp, Tsu!"

_I'll sing a funny song that Kyo-chan likes, Tsu!_

"Miiiieeee, meo-"

_Hiiiieeee, please no-_

"Midori tanabiku namimori no~"

"Meow!"

_Hi-chan!_

"Dai naku shou naku nami ga ii~"

"Meooow!"

_Don't ignore me!_

"Itsumo kawaranu sukoyaka kenage, aa..."

"Meow-"

_What if Hibari hears-_

"Tomo ni utaou namimo- chirp!"

_Hey!_

"Meow."

_Hi-chan, it's best we hide for now._

_**SLAM!**_

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"...Chirp~!"

_...Kyo-chan came~!_

"Mmm! Meow!"

_Shhhh! He shouldn't see us here, I think!_

"Chirp, Tsu?"

_Why, Tsu?_

"..."

"..."

"Meow..? Meow."

_'Cause I don't know what Hibari-san could do with me. I should be going now, I suppose..?_

"Chirp~! Chiiirp!"

_I dunno~! Kyo-chan didn't say whether cats are prohibited in the human-learn-place!_

"Meow. Meow..."

_That's called 'school', Hi-chan. And I don't think I want to take chances..._

"..."

"..."

"Chi-i-irp!"

_He's sle-e-eping!_

"Mew."

_Yup._

"Chirp~!"

_I don't know what he's dreaming about~!_

"Meow."

_Neither do I._

"Chi-chi! Chiiirp~!"

_Haha! Kyo-chan has a funny expression when he sleeps~!_

"...Meow."

_I am not certain if one can call it 'funny', Hi-chan._

"Chiiiirp, Tsuuu~! Chirp!"

_Look, Tsuuu~! Kyo-chan is doing a funny face again!_

"Mm. Meow. Meooooow..."

_Um. I can't see his eyes and it's positively frightening, I reckon. He might be sleeping but then again, I'm not particularly sure... Back at the hospital he said that the sound of a falling petal can wake him up. Good thing I jumped out of the window before that petal fell..._

"Chiiirp, chirp~!"

_Then I think we should leave now before any petals fall~!_

"...Meow."

_...Yup._

* * *

Love, peace and cookies

River Melody

P.S. Care for a cookie? *offers a plate of cookies*

P.P.S. Yes, I own a cardboard box and once in a while when I get fed up, I go onto the balcony and sit in it. I highly recommend you to try it once.


End file.
